LIBRARY 

OF   THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

OIK-T  OK 


Received 
Accession  No.V**-.        Class  No. 


y'  0»  TH»        • 

IIVBRSIT7J 


THE   PRAU  SHOT  OUT   INTO  THE  OPEN   WATERS   OF  THE  SEMANTAN. 


THE 


PANGLIMA  MUDA 


A    ROMANCE    OF   MALAYA 


BY 


ROUNSEVELLE  W1LDMAN 


OF  TH1 

B1U7IRS; 

#j~ 


SAN   FRANCISCO 
OVERLAND  MONTHLY  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

1894 


Copyright.  1894, 
By  Rounsevelle  Wildman. 


PRESS  OF 

'CON     FR'NTING    COMPAI". 
SAN    FRANCISCO,  CAl. 


TO   MY 

WIFE 
I  dedicate  this  Mli  book 

in  remembrance  of 

those  three  glorious  years  in  the 

Golden  Chersonese, 

our  Honeymoon. 


At  U.  S.  Consulate, 

Singapore,  S.  S  ,  June,  1891 


U1TI7BRSIT7 


Illustrations 
By  Pierre  N.  Boeringer. 


fUFIVBfcSITri 


I. 

THE  prau  Besar  moved 
slowly,  almost  noiselessly, 
up  the  stream. 

The  sharp,  greaseless  squeak  and  ever  continuing 
groan  of  the  rattan  oarlocks  might  have  been  mis 
taken  by  the  uninitiated  as  an  evidence  of  animal 
life  in  the  impenetrable  green  arch  above. 

The  six  Malays  hardly  bent  their  backs  as  they 
cut  the  water  almost  vertically  with  their  spear- 
shaped  oar-blades,  only  pausing  in  their  task  from 
time  to  time  to  dash  a  handful  of  tepid  water  on 
the  locks,  whenever  the  gradually  increasing  vol 
ume  of  ear-piercing  sounds  threatened  to  awake 
their  sleeping  passengers. 

From  under  a  small  half-deck,  shaded  by  a  palm 
leaf  cadjang,  arranged  like  the  detached  roof  of  a 
barn,  with  openings  fore  and  aft,  projected  two 
pairs  of  shooting  boots.  The  Q\&punghzdo,  or  chief, 
in  the  stern,  directed  the  boat  in  silence,  casting 
at  intervals  swift,  searching  glances  into  the  dense 
jungle  on  either  side.  The  heavy  splash  of  a  croco 
dile  among  the  sinuous  roots  that  bound  the  stream 


8  THE   PANGLIMA    MUDA. 

like  a  fretwork  of  lace  caused  him  to  drop  his  head, 
and  grasp  the  handle  of  his  kris  with  a  seemingly 
more  than  necessary  apprehension. 

A  hearty  laugh  came  from  under  the  cadjang : 
"  O,  I  say,  Wahpering,  brace  up.  If  you  dodge  ev 
ery  time  a  gecko  clucks,  you  will  dislocate  your 
dorsal  vertebrae  before  night." 

The  steersman  only  shook  his  head,— 
"  Baniak  jahat,  Tuan  !  "  (Very  bad,  my  lord  ! ) 
The  river  wound  and  twisted  along  mile  after 
mile,  and  finally  lost  itself  in  a  maze  of  rich,  moist 
tropical  foliage,  only  to  emerge  a  little  later  into  a 
series  of  open  lagoons  where  the  great  bordering 
trees,  columnar  and  beautiful,  were  mirrored  in 
amber  black  waters.  A  white  eagle  glided  silently 
athwart  the  stream  and  disappeared  in  a  thin  streak 
of  azure,  high  above.  A  kingfisher,  like  a  brilliant 
flash  of  blue,  darted  out  of  a  gnarled  old  trunk, 
from  whose  decrepit  limbs  hung  orchids  of  dazzling 
colors,  in  pursuit  of  its  gorgeously-scaled  prey. 
Ever  and  anon  the  noisy  call  of  the  cicada  rivaled 
the  persistent  squeak  of  the  oarlocks,  and  cut  short 
the  shrill,  defiant  crow  of  the  jungle-cock.  The 
green  and  gold  fronds  of  a  half  dozen  cocoa-nut 
trees  raised  their  graceful  plumes  above  a  bit  of 
sandy  shore. 

The  steersman  changed  his  paddle  from  one 
hand  to  the  other,  and  with  a  few  deft  strokes  sent 
the  sharp-pointed  prau  far  up  on  the  little  beach. 
One  pair  of  boots  disappeared  from  under  the 
roof,  the  other  pair  moved  restlessly.  In  a  moment 
the  owner  of  the  first  pair  appeared  on  his  hands 
and  knees,  and  gazed  curiously  about ;  the  owner 


THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA. 


/tlr^s 


"SENT  THE  SHARP-POINTKD   PRAU   FAR  UP   ON   THE  LITTLE   BEACH." 

of  the  second  pair  yawned,  and  inquired  sleepily, 
"  What 's  up,  Beach  ?     Is  it  Mr.  Orang  Kayah  ? " 
"  The  Lord  only  knows.    More  likely  machan-an. 
Wait  until  I  ask.     I  say,  Wahpering,  what's  up?" 
"  Machan-an  (eating),  Tuan  ! " 
"  They  call  it  dinner,  one  of  their  excuses  for  a 
sleep, —  the  lazy  brutes!     Well,  here  goes."     And 
with  several  preparatory  groans,  a  short,  thick-set 
man  emerged,  of  perhaps  forty-five  or  fifty,  whose 
full  ruddy  face  exhibited  a  wrinkled  map  of  good 
nature.    His  hair,  which  had  retreated  from  the  top 
of  his  head,  resembling  in  style  the  tonsure  of  a 
monk,  was  of  a  dull  reddish  color.     His  general  ap 
pearance  was  in  direct  contrast  to  that  of  his  com 
panion,  who  was  tall,  straight,  and  broad-shouldered, 


IO  THE    PANGLIMA    MUDA. 

possibly  twenty-eight  years  of  age,  but  with  a  youth 
ful,  almost  pink,  complexion  that  made  his  generous 
blonde  mustache  seem  out  of  place.  The  younger 
man's  eyes. were  large  and  blue,  and  joined  the  rest 
of  his  handsome  face  in  a  merry  laugh,  as  his  short- 
winded  companion  came  crawling  from  his  impro 
vised  cabin. 

"  I  say,  Doctor,  it 's  too  bad  I  did  n't  bring  a  cam 
era.  How  your  learned  friends  of  the  Smithsonian 
would  prize  a  photograph  of  you  in  such  a  position. 
They  would  never  believe  it.  I  can  see  them  now 
holding  a  council,  trying  to  decide  to  what  order  of 
mammals  it  belonged." 

The  Doctor  gained  his  feet  with  the  help  of  a 
boatman,  very  red  in  the  face,  and  very  much  excit 
ed  over  the  disappearance  of  his  monocle,  which  the 
smiling  native  caught  as  it  cut  a  complete  circle 
about  his  body,  and  placed  it  in  his  hand. 

"Hugh!  hugh!  Ah,  thanks,  Beach.  Beastly 
place  !  You  haven't  a  looking  glass  with  you?  — 
but  of  course  you  have  n't.  More  to  eat,  hey  !  Welly 
give  me  your  hand  and  get  the  guns  ;  we  may  wing  a 
bird  or  two  while  they  are  boiling  their  confound 
ed  rice." 

Wahpering  saw  the  guns,  and  came  forward  with 
a  look  of  genuine  alarm  on  his  shriveled-up  little 
face.  "Tuan  Doctor.  No  shoot.  Orang  Kayah 
hear!" 

"  O  to  the  pit  with  your  Orang  Kayah.  I  have 
heard  of  nothing  else  for  a  month.  I  am  sent  out 
here  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution  to  make  a  col 
lection  of  the  flora  and  fauna  of  this  peninsula  ; 
also,  to  study  its  anthropology,  ethnology,  lithology, 


WAHPERINO   BOWED  SADLY 


Of  TH1 

IVBH3ITY 


THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA.  13 

and  metallurgy,  to  obtain  archaic  time-pieces,  rneas- 
uring  instruments,  games  of  chance,  and  musical 
instruments.  Do  you  understand,  sir?" 

Wahpering  bowed  sadly.  He  had  become  used 
to  the  long  speeches  of  the  Orang  American. 

"  Glad  you  do.  Well,  I  intend  to  do  it  in  spite 
of  all  the  Orang  Kayahs  or  orang-outangs  between 
here  and  Siam," 

Wahpering  turned  aside,  and  commenced  prepar 
ing  the  midday  meal ;  while  his  men  brought  their 
mats  from  the  boat  and  spread  them  out  on  a  wiry 
bed  of  lallang  grass  within  the  shadow  of  the  palms. 
Before  lying  down  each  took  from  a  pouch,  which 
he  carried  in  the  ample  folds  of  his  sarong,  a  green 
lemon  leaf  smeared  with  lime,  placed  in  it  some 
broken  bits  of  areca  nut,  and  tucked  the  entire  mix 
ture  away  in  the  liberal  recess  of  his  syrah-stained 
mouth.  In  a  few  moments  a  bright  red  froth  oozed 
from  between  his  lips. 

"Well,  I'll  be  hanged!"  commented  Beach,  as 
he  pushed  five  cartridges,  one  after  another,  into 
the  magazine  of  his  express  rifle.  "  That  settles  it. 
I  am  going  to  take  a  brace  of  those  fellows  back  to 
the  Fair  with  me.  They  will  draw  a  crowd  if  they 
do  nothing  more  than  chew  betel-nut.  Now  look 
at  them  go  to  sleep,  regardless  of  our  time  and 
money. the  whole  beggarly  lot ! " 

"A  hundred  years  ago  they  were  the  pirates  of 
the  world.  The  bloodiest  set  of  rascals  on  the  face 
of  the  earth." 

"Yes,  I  know,  Doctor,  but  the  only  thing  bloody 
about  them  now  is  their  mouths,  which  resemble, 
as  Bill  Nye  graphically  puts  it,  stabs  in  the  dark. 
Come  on  for  a  tramp." 


14  THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA. 

The  Doctor  dropped  a  dozen  biscuits  into  his 
pocket,  fixed  his  glass  firmly  in  his  eye,  and  fol 
lowed,  gun  in  hand,  regardless  of  the  warning  looks 
of  the  old  headman. 


THE   PANGLIMA    MUDA,  15 


II. 

PROFESSOR  JONAS  POULTNEY,  Ph.  D.,  F.  R.  S.,  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution,  and  Mr.  John  Quincy 
Adams  Beach,  Special  Commissioner  of  the  World's 
Columbian  Exposition,  had  arrived  in  Singapore  by 
the  French  Mail  Steamer  Oxus,  on  important  mis 
sions  for  their  respective  institutions,  just  at  the 
outbreak  of  a  native  war  in  the  states  north  of  that 
city. 

In  spite  of  the  protests  of  their  consul  and  the 
advice  of  the  colonial  government,  they  determined 
to  pierce  the  very  heart  of  the  rebellious  region, 
and  to  depend  on  the  harmless  nature  of  their 
mission  and  on  their  own  wits  and  experience  for 
protection.  For,  as  the  learned  Doctor  was  fond 
of  repeating,  he  had  been  usent  out  by  the  great 
Smithsonian  Institution  to  make  a  collection  of  the 
fauna  and  flora  of  the  peninsula,  to  study  its  anthro 
pology,  ethnology,  lithology,  and  metallurgy;  to 
procure  archaic  time-pieces,  games  of  chance,  and 
coins,"  and  he  intended  to  do  it  in  the  face  of  any 
two-by-four  war. 

"You  don't  know  Professor  Langley  ?  Well,  I 
told  him  I  would,  and  I  will."  And  the  good-hu 
mored  face  would  struggle  to  put  on  a  fierce  look, 
which  was  invariably  ruined  by  the  dropping  of  his 
eye-glass  and  his  younger  companion's  hearty  laugh. 

"  All  right,  Doctor,"  laughed  the  consul.  "I'll 
give  you  letters  to  the  residents  of  Pahang  and  Se- 
langor,  and  vise  your  passports,  and  then  look  out 
for  the  mighty  Orang  Kayah." 


l6  THE   PANGLIMA    MUDA. 

The  Doctor  snorted. 

"  Do  you  think,  sir,  that  I  who  have  served  two 
campaigns  under  Grant,  who  have  been  among  the 
Sioux  at  their  worst,  and  braved  Apaches  in  their 
strongholds,  who  have  seen  the  head  of  the  Nile 
and  the  open  Polar  Sea,  am  to  be  frightened  off  by 
a  pack  of  rascally  Malays,  who  have  n't  the  nerve, 
sir, —  nerve,  I  say,— to  fight  a  handful  of  Sikhs,  and 
who  will  go  to  war  over  a  chief  who  has  so  de 
meaned  himself  as  to  accept  servants'  wages  from 
the  hands  of  a  colonial  governor.  Afraid  of  Malays  ! 
Why,  sir,  half  as  many  Sioux  would  have  had  the 
scalps  of  every  man,  woman,  and  child,  and  pariah 
dog ;  would  have  burned  every  house  and  town  in 
Pahang,  and  would  have  had  time  left  to  have  a 
good  fight  among  themselves.  Twice  as  many  un 
der  Sitting  Bull  would  have  been  in  Singapore, 
and  frightened  its  '  anything  for  peace  '  governor  to 
death.  Don't  talk  to  me  of  fear."  And  the  Doctor's 
face  became  as  scarlet,  his  eyes  snapped,  and  he 
brought  down  his  fist  on  a  pile  of  consular  invoices 
with  energy  that  could  not  be  doubted. 

They  were  a  week  getting  ready  to  start  for  the 
interior.  The  Doctor  interviewed  the  curator  of 
Raffle's  Museum  and  the  director  of  the  Botanic 
Gardens,  and  made  copious  notes  for  future  diges 
tion  ;  while  Beach  explored  the  great  cosmopoli 
tan  city, —  its  temples,  its  mosques,  its  bazaars,  its 
wharves, —  or  sat  for  hours  on  the  veranda  of  his  ho 
tel,  and  watched  the  mixed  stream  of  Old  World 
humanity  surge  by.  Omnipresent  was  the  China 
man  in  his  flowing  trousers  and  spotless  shirt,  the 
Kling,  whose  straight,  graceful  form  and  lithe  limbs 


THE   PANGLIMA    MUDA. 


"  BROUGHT   DOWN   HIS  FIST  ON   A  PILE  OF  CONSULAR  INVOICES." 

shone  like  ebony  in  the  fierce  Malayan  sun,  the 
Malay,  the  deposed  king  of  the  soil,  in  his  ubiqui 
tous  sarong,  the  Parsee  merchant  in  his  high  rimless 
hat  and  beaded  sandals,  the  Jew  money-changer  in 
long,  silken  flowing  robes,  his  rival,  the  Hindoo 
chitti  or  money-lender,  dressed  in  a  few  yards  of 
white  gauze,  the  negro  with  thick  lips  and  woolly 
pate,  looked  down  upon  by  his  brother  dark  races 
of  the  Equator,  the  Tamil,  the  Javanese,  the  Jap 
anese,  the  Achinese,  the  Siamese,  the  Burmese,  and 
a  dozen  more,  equally  curious  to  American  eyes. 

The  great  flabby  humps  on  the  back  of  the  pass 
ing  bullocks  carried  his  mind  back  to  his  Bible  read 
ing,  and  the  naked  coolies  pulling  flying  rickshas 
gave  him  a  touch  of  delightful  Japan.  Around  and 
above  all  was  that  trade-mark  of  the  obese  East, — 


1 8  THE    PANGLIMA    MUDA. 

an  odor  which  when  once  learned  is  never  forgotten. 
But  of  all  the  races  that  defiled  before  him  he  saw 
no  representative  of  the  one  he  was  seeking.  He 
wanted  a  family  of  Sakies,  the  aborigines  of  the 
Malay  peninsula,  who  dwelt  in  the  almost  inacces 
sible  jungles  about  Mount  Ophir. 

"I  am  like  the  Doctor,"  he  commented  to  himself, 
"  I  said  I  would,  and  I  will." 

The  longer  they  remained  in  Singapore  the  worse 
the  reports  were  that  came  in  from  the  seat  of  war. 
It  was  said  that  the  dissatisfied  chief,  the  Orang 
Kay  ah,  or  great  warrior,  had  taken  possession  of 
the  stores  of  the  Raub  Gold  Mining  Company  and 
placed  a  toll  on  all  boats  ascending  the  Pahang  Riv 
er;  then  that  he  had  erected  a  series  of  stockades 
throughout  the  Bentong  district,  and  thereby  cut 
off  all  communication  with  the  interior.  The  Doc 
tor  stormed,  and  swore  that  he  would  appeal  to  the 
Sultan.  Then  the  report  came  that  His  Highness 
was  secretly  backing  his  rebellious  subjects. 

Beach  laughed,  and  said  :  "  Take  it  easy,  Doctor, 
we  '11  have  more  time  to  study  our  Malay  grammar." 

But  the  Doctor  scorned  the  advice,  and  engaged 
passage  for  Klang  by  a  steamer  that  was  taking  up 
a  party  of  government  Sikhs.  Beach  made  no  ob 
jection,  and  accompanied  him.  From  Klang  they 
went  with  the  same  party  to  the  little  residency 
town  of  Kwalla  Lumpur  then  across  country  to  the 
Pahang,  and  there  engaged  Malay  boatmen  and  the 
old  headman,  Wahpering,  to  take  them  up  the  Se- 
mantan  River. 

It  was  a  hazardous  undertaking,  but  one  that 
fitted  both  the  temper  of  the  Doctor  and  the  spirit 
of  his  younger  companion. 


THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA.  19 


III. 

THE  cocoa-nut  grove  opened  into  a  deserted 
plantation.  Scraggly  tapioca  shrubs  at  intervals 
topped  an  undulating  sea  of  lallang  grass.  The 
ruins  of  an  attap  bungalow,  shaded  by  a  brilliantly 
red  flamboyant,  occupied  the  center  of  the  neglect 
ed  spot. 

"  It  is  plain,"  laughed  Beach,  as  he  seated  him 
self  on  the  ant-eaten  beam  of  a  wooden  plow,  "  why 
the  plantation  was  deserted, —  the  house  fell  down. 
Too  shiftless  to  rebuild  !  " 

The  Doctor  was  examining  the  ruins,  which  were 
of  attap,  on  piles  six  feet  above  the  ground,  and  ap 
proached  by  a  rickety  ladder.  Its  interior  would 
just  allow  a  man  to  stand  upright ;  its  floor  was  of 
elastic  strips  of  bamboo. 

"  I  have  an  idea,  Beach  !  Have  a  Malay  bungalow 
made  in  Singapore  for  your  Malayan  exhibit  at  the 
Fair." 

"I  am  afraid  it  would  take  an  entire  village  to 
hold  my  collection  at  the  rate  at  which  it  is  pro 
gressing.  Hello  !  What 's  that  ? " 

A  wild  pig  rushed  from  out  the  midst  of  a  half 
dozen  stunted  pineapples,  and  disappeared  into  the 
yielding  grass. 

"  O,  you  're  safe,  my  black  beauty,"  growled  the 
Doctor,  as  he  savagely  screwed  at  his  eye-glass, 
"we  're  Mohammedans,  and  don't  eat  pork.  What 
an  old  fool  I  am  getting  to  be,— might  just  as  well 
have  been  a  tiger  !  " 


20  THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA. 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  plantation  they  entered 
the  jungle  by  a  narrow,  winding  path,  and  picked 
their  way  slowly  along  its  uneven  course,  catch 
ing  glimpses  of  great  grey  iguanas  just  above  their 
heads,  of  dazzling  green  and  gold  lizards,  leaving 
behind  a  troop  of  long-armed  wah-wahs  that  were 
swinging  and  chattering  in  the  great  trees  that 
fringed  the  jungle,  and  finding  a  little  troop  of  quar 
reling  black  monkeys  in  the  dim  obscurity  of  the 
interior.  Trailing  rubber  vines  reached  down  and 
caught  up  their  cork  helmets,  and  the  hooked  claws 
of  the  rattan  clutched  their  clothes  and  impeded 
their  progress. 

Suddenly  Beach  stopped  and  held  up  his  finger. 

A  low  deep  boom,  sounding  strangely  out  of 
place  in  their  desolate  surroundings,  fell  upon  their 
ears.  It  was  a  hollow,  resonant  sound,  and  came 
surging  through  the  jungle  at  regular  intervals,  like 
the  far-away  report  of  a  heavy  gun  at  sea.  They 
looked  at  each  other  inquiringly,  and  then  pushed 
noiselessly  on. 

The  boom  became  more  distinct  as  they  pro 
gressed.  Its  tones  grew  to  a  deep  mellow  bass,  as 
perfectly  modulated  and  as  rich  and  sonorous  as  the 
strokes  of  a  bass  viol. 

"  If  I  were  in  the  North  Woods  of  Maine  I  would 
swear  it  was  a  partridge  drumming  on  a  hollow  log," 
commented  the  Doctor  musingly. 

u  It  strikes  me  that  I  have  heard  the  same  deep 
sound  several  times  during  our  trip  up  the  river, 
and  I  should  not  be  surprised  if  it  came  from  a 
Malay  village." 

"  That 's  it,"  answered  the  Doctor.  "  I  have  heard 


THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA.  21 

the  thing  in  Africa.  It  is  an  artificially  hollow  log 
hung  to  the  limb  of  a  tree,  and  struck  with  a  club 
of  wood." 

"Which  means  that  we  are  close  to  a  village  or  a 
mosque  ? " 

"  Yes,"  went  on  the  Doctor,  "  or  one  of  the  Orang 
Kayah's  forts.  Forward,  march." 

For  five  minutes  they  stumbled  along  the  narrow 
path,  until  they  were  almost  precipitated  from  the 
semi-twilight  of  the  jungle  into  the  blazing  glare  of 
the  sun. 

The  boom  of  the  gong  rushed  to  their  ears  in  great 
waves  of  sound,  direct  from  a. stockade  not  a  hun 
dred  yards  in  front.  They  gazed  about  them  in 
wonderment  at  the  unexpected  scene.  To  their 
right  was  the  river, —  their  left,  the  unbroken  face 
of  the  jungle. 

Overlooking  the  river  and  projecting  from  port 
holes  in  the  stockade,  were  the  black  mouths  of 
three  small  cannon. 

"Well,  I  '11  be  shot !  "  broke  from  the  younger  of 
the  two. 

The  Doctor  placed  his  monocle  carefully  in  his 
eye  and  surveyed  the  structure  deliberately. 

"  Yes,  I  think  you  would  have  been  shot  had  we 
come  up  the  stream  sound  asleep  under  our  cad- 
jang.  You  can  see  inside,  I  suppose  ?  " 

"Well,  hardly!  Here,  give  me  your  shoulder." 
And  the  younger  man  sprang  lightly  into  the  lower 
limbs  of  a  blasted  tree. 

"All  right.  Now  I  can  see.  There  are,  I  should 
say,  from  two  to  three  hundred  Malays  inside,  half 
as  many  dogs,  about  a  dozen  big,  open  palm-leaf 
sheds,  and  two  fair-looking  bungalows." 


22  THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA. 

"Any  sentinels? " 

"  Not  that  I  can  see,  and  the  gate  of  the  affair  is 
wide  open  on  the  side  toward  the  jungle." 

"If  we  made  a  dash  into  it  with  sixteen  shots 
each,  where  would  the  beggars  go  ? " 

"Through  a  small  gate  on  the  river  side." 

"Good  !  Come  down.  It 's  got  to  be  done.  We 
must  get  up  the  river,  or  go  back  to  Singapore." 

"  But  don't  you  think,  Doctor,  it  would  be  better 
to  go  peacefully  in  and  present  our  letters  to  the 
Sultan,  and  ask  for  safe  passports  ?  " 

"Not  a  bit  of  it,  my  boy.  There  is  only  one 
way, —  stampede  them.  I  have  seen  it  done  in  Af 
rica.  They  are  in  rebellion,  and  we  have  the  law 
on  our  side.  Forward,  march  !  " 

Beach  smiled,  and  stooped  down  to  throw  a  car 
tridge  from  the  magazine  into  the  barrel  and  to 
loosen  his  revolver.  The  Doctor  took  two  or  three 
steps  in  advance. 

"Pardon  me,  gentlemen,"  came  in  clear,  even 
tones  from  behind  them.  "  If  I  may  be  allowed  to 
advise,  I  should  say  that  the  younger  man's  plan 
was  much  the  better,  although  I  am  not  certain  but 
that  you  would  stampede  my  poor  followers  easily 
enough.  It  has  been  done  before  !  " 

"  What  the  deuce  —  !  "  ejaculated  the  Doctor. 

Beach  brought  his  rifle  half  way  to  his  shoulder, 
and  lowered  it  again  at  the  sight  of  the  man  before 
him. 

"Allow  me  to  introduce  myself,"  he  went  on, 
smiling  at  Beach's  warlike  movement.  "I  am  the 
Panglima  Muda,  which  means  in  English,  rather 
broadly  translated,  the  general  commanding.  My 


THE    PANGLIMA    MUDA.  23 

chief  is  His  Excellency  the  Orang  Kayah  of  Se- 
mantan.  Now,  whom  may  I  have  the  honor  of  meet- 
ing?" 

The  Panglima  Muda  was  a  little  over  five  feet  in 
height.  His  features  were  clean  cut  and  intelli 
gent,  and  would  have  been  pleasant  but  for  a  scar 
over  his  right  eye,  which  gave  them  a  sinister  cast. 
He  was  dressed  in  a  silk  sarong  of  variegated  col 
ors,  that  fell  like  a  skirt  about  his  legs,  and  a  dark 
blue  naval  officer's  jacket,  the  buttons  on  which 
were  of  gold  set  with  stones.  On  his  head  he  wore 
a  rimless  cap,  and  on  his  feet  a  pair  of  russet  shoot 
ing  boots.  From  the  folds  of  his  sarong  protruded 
the  jeweled  handle  of  a  kris. 

The  Doctor  could  only  gasp  and  stare  in  uncon 
cealed  astonishment. 

The  younger  man  answered,  waving  his  hand 
toward  his  companion,— 

"  Let  me  introduce  to  you  Mr.  Jonas  Poultney, 
Ph.  D.,  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  United 
States  of  America." 

The  Panglima  Muda  bowed. 

"  And  your  name  ? "  he  said  politely. 

The  Doctor  had  so  far  recovered  himself  as  to 
exclaim  pompously,— 

"Mr.  John  Ouincy  Adams  Beach,  Special  Com 
missioner  of  the  World's  Fair,  late  Lieutenant  in 
the  United  States  Navy,  a  descendant  of  two  Pres 
idents  of  the  United  States." 

"Ah,  indeed!"  and  the  Malay  bowed  to  the 
younger  man,  and  smiled  at  the  blushes  that  the 
introduction  brought  to  his  temples  ;  "then  we  will 
call  you  the  Duke  of  Massachusetts,  Mr.  Beach. 


24  THE   PANGLIMA    MUDA. 

You  see  I  know  something  about  your  great  coun 
try.  Now,  will  you  accompany  me  to  my  humble 
quarters?  I  shall  consider  it  a  great  honor  to  en 
tertain  two  such  distinguished  citizens  of  the  great 
est  republic  on  earth." 

"  On  one  condition,"  replied  the  Doctor,  acknowl- 
ledging  the  tribute  to  his  country  with  a  gratified 
"Poh!  Poh!" — "that  you  guarantee  us  safe  passport 
out  of  and  past  your  fort.  We  are  anxious  to  get 
into  the  interior,  and  take  no  interest  in  your  two 
penny  war." 

"  But  you  should,"  replied  the  Malay  pleasantly. 
"We are  fighting,  like  your  immortal  Washington, 
for  our  independence." 

"  Independence,  fiddlesticks  !  What  you  are  fight 
ing  for  is  beyond  me.  You  know  how  silly  and  use 
less  such  an  act  is.  As  for  your  chief,  he  is  fight 
ing  for  more  salary  from  the  governor.  But  do  you 
grant  us  the  passports  ?  " 

"  I  am  sorry  I  cannot,  and  we  may  have  to  detain 
you  for  a  few  days.  A  learned  man  like  yourself 
will  find  a  study  of  our  habits  and  customs  inter 
esting." 

"Then,  good  day  !  Come  on,  Beach.  We  '11  have 
to  go  back  to  Klang  and  get  a  force  and  clear  this 
river." 

The  Doctor  turned  on  his  heel  haughtily,  and 
strode  in  the  direction  of  the  jungle  path. 

A  file  of  Malays,  with  drawn  krisses,  blocked  the 
way.  He  raised  his  gun  and  motioned  them  aside. 

"  Unless  you  wish  your  force  reduced,  I  advise 
you  to  draw  them  off,"  he  went  on  angrily.  "Do 
you  think  I  am  to  be  frightened  by  a  row  of  half- 
breed  slaves  ? " 


THE    PANGLIMA    MUDA.  25 

"  It  is  useless  to  fire,"  answered  the  chief,  flush 
ing  redly.  "  You  might  kill  one  or  two,  which 
would  not  be  a  serious  matter,  but  you  would  be 
krissed  in  the  end,  which  would  be  a  serious  loss  to 
science.  I  am  very  sorry  that  you  refuse  to  become 
my  guests.  It  is  certainly  preferable  to  becoming 
my  prisoners,  and  less  painful  to  me." 

The  Doctor  snorted,  "  Sir,  you  will  have  to  settle 
with  my  country  for  this  outrage.  I  am  sent  here 
by  the  order  of  the  great  Smithsonian  Institution, 
to  make  a  collection  of  the  fauna  and  flora  of  this 
Archipelago,  to  examine  and  study  its  anthropol 
ogy,  ethnology,  lithology,  and  metallurgy,  to  obtain 
archaic  time-pieces,  weapons,  and  coins.  Mr.  Beach, 
sir,  is  in  search  of  Sakies,  the  aborigines  of  this 
country,  who  it  is  said  live  at  the  foot  of  the  far- 
famed  Mount  Ophir." 

"  How  fortunate !  I  can  be  of  great  service  to 
both  you  and  Mr.  Beach.  I  will  guarantee  you, 
Doctor,  a  complete  collection  of  weapons,  coins,  and 
dress.  Your  time  is  your  own  to  make  your  her 
barium,  and  as  for  the  animals,  I  will  see  that  one 
of  every  kind  that  grows  is  brought  to  your  door. 
For  Mr.  Beach  I  will  secure  a  half  dozen  Sakies ; 
and  above  all,  I  will  take  pleasure  in  showing  you 
both  the  old  gold  mines  and  roads  of  King  Solomon, 
at  the  base  of  Mount  Ophir.  So  that  your  friends 
will  rest  easy,  I  will  send  a  messenger  to  your  con 
sul  in  Singapore,  and  notify  him  that  you  have  de 
cided  to  pay  me  a  short  visit." 

The  Doctor,  more  than  half  convinced,  hesitated. 
The  professional  side  of  his  nature  had  succumbed, 
the  obstinate  side  still  held  out. 


26  THE    PANGLIMA    MUDA. 

Beach  pulled  out  a  manila  and  bit  off  the  end. 
The  Chief  smiled,  and  handed  him  a  box  of  matches. 

"  But,"  said  the  Doctor,  slowly  lowering  the  muz 
zle  of  his  rifle,  "  I  must  have  my  tools,  and  books, 
and  arsenic.  They  are  all  in  our  boat." 

"  They  were,"  corrected  the  Chief.  "  Now  they 
are  in  your  quarters  inside  the  stockade,  and  your 
interpreter,  Wahpering,  is  awaiting  your  orders 
there." 

As  they  entered  the  stockade  the  soldiers  looked 
up  carelessly,  and  a  number  of  the  officers  gave 
the  national  salute  of  their  race,  "Tabek,  Tuan," 
(Greeting,  my  Lords,)  without  exhibiting  either  sur 
prise  or  exultation. 

The  Panglima  led  them  down  the  main  street  of 
the  encampment  to  one  of  the  two  attap  bungalows. 

The  Doctor  went  in  first,  laboriously  ascending 
and  crowding  himself  through  the  small  opening. 
Beach  sprang  lightly  up,  followed  by  their  host. 

The  interior  was  one  large  room,  divided  into 
compartments  by  sarongs  hung  over  bamboo  poles. 
The  floor,  of  split  bamboo,  was  elastic  to  the  step. 
Between  the  cross-pieces  of  bamboo  were  openings 
like  the  white  spots  on  a  checker-board,  through 
which  came  up  light  and  air.  On  the  floor  were 
spread  mats  of  woven  palms,  on  which  were  sev 
eral  sleeping  Malays.  The  Chief  went  up  to  one, 
drew  from  its  sheath  his  needle-pointed  kris,  and 
pricked  him  until  the  blood  came. 

The  sleeper  sprang  to  his  feet  with  a  cry  of  pain, 
a  look  of  terror  on  his  distorted  face.  The  Pangli 
ma  laughed,  and  carefully  wiped  the  point  of  his 
kris  on  the  fellow's  sarong,  and  pointed  towards 


THE    PANGLIMA    MUDA.  2Q 

his  guests.  Not  until  then  had  the  wounded  man 
noticed  that  there  were  others  in  the  room.  He 
turned  quickly,  and  touched  his  forehead  with  the 
back  of  his  open  palm, —  it  was  Wahpering, —  and 
then  rushed  forward  and  took  their  helmets  and 
guns. 

"We  were  expecting  you,"  he  mumbled.  "  His 
Highness  say  you  pay  him  visit,  and  command  your 
servants  come  by  river."  Then  he  whispered  as  he 
drew  up  to  Beach's  side  :  "  He  Panglima  Muda,  very 
brave.  Live  in  England  long  time.  He  steal  Mem 
(Lady)  Mead.  Hide  her  in  jungle." 

The  Chief  turned  his  eyes  on  Wahpering.  They 
were  cold  and  steely,  and  filled  with  a  sinister  gleam. 
He  tapped  the  jeweled  handle  of  his  kris  significant 
ly,  and  addressing  Beach  said  quietly  :  - 

"  It  is  not  always  best  for  a  Malay  to  learn  Eng 
lish.  They  learn  to  tell  lies,  which  is  bad.  Wah 
pering,  your  interpreter,  might  be  led  on  to  talk  too 
much.  Then,  when  night  comes,  he  lies  down  on 
his  mat  to  sleep.  In  the  night  some  one  who  has 
heard  his  talk  comes  under  the  house  and  runs  his 
kris  up  through  the  floor  into  Wahpering.  The 
next  day  his  body  is  thrown  oat  to  the  tiger." 

Wahpering  hung  his  head,  but  the  ashy  pallor  in 
his  face  had  given  place  to  a  crafty  look  of  contri 
tion,  which  could  not  disguise  the  revengeful  flash 
of  his  eyes.  The  Chief  saw  it,  and  turned  to  one 
of  his  men,  and  spoke  a  few  words  in  his  native 
tongue.  The  man  laid  his  hand  on  Wahpering's 
shoulder  and  led  him  out  of  the  room.  In  another 
moment  the  air  quivered  with  a  dozen  heart-rending 
screams,  and  in  another  moment  Wahpering  was 


30  THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA. 

pushed  through  the  open  door  and  thrown  on  a 
mat,  fainting,  his  back  a  mass  of  raw  flesh. 

The  Chief  paid  no  attention  to  the  little  tragedy. 
"You  will  find  all  your  baggage  here,  gentlemen. 
Your  servants  are  below.  I  will  come  for  you  to 
morrow  at  ten  o'clock,  when  you  will  pay  your  re 
spects  to  His  Excellency,  the  Orang  Kayah.  Good 
day."  And,  bowing  gracefully,  he  withdrew. 

The  Doctor  sprang  to  his  medicine  chest,  and 
mixed  a  soothing  ointment  which  he  applied  to  the 
suffering  man's  lacerated  back. 

"  Leave  him  unconscious,  Beach.  He  will  come 
to  quick  enough  for  all  parties  concerned.  There 
is  someone  going  to  be  krissed  to  pay  for  this,  and 
in  my  opinion  it  won't  be  Wahpering.  What  was 
it  he  said  about  a  Miss  Mead  ? " 


THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA.  31 


IV. 

WAHPERING  recovered  from  his  swoon  only  to 
lapse  into  a  semi-comatose  state,  from  which  he 
finally  awoke  in  a  high  fever.  The  Doctor  and 
Beach  sat  with  him  until  dark,  and  then  left  him  in 
the  care  of  two  of  their  Malay  boatmen,  while  they 
partook  of  a  well-cooked  dinner  that  was  brought 
in  and  placed  on  a  linen  cloth,  spread  on  the  floor. 
The  dishes  were  all  of  china,  and  bore  a  well  known 
Condon, trademark.  They  were  served  with  soup, 
venison,  potatoes,  yams,  and  egg-plant,  rice  curry, 
and  fried  bananas,  sherry,  claret^  and  whisky_and 
soda. 

"  Well,  I'll  be  shot,"  remarked  Beach,  as  he  picked 
out  a  Havana  and  carefully  unrolled  the  tin  foil  that 
protected  it,  "  this  is  the  first  Cuban  I  Ve  had  since 
I  left  San  Francisco.  If  it  were  n't  for  the  poor 
devil  in  the  corner  I  would  vote  this  Mr.  Panglima 
a  good  fellow.  Who  'd  have  thought  of  bringing 
finger-glasses  and  napkins  out  into  the  jungle  ?  " 

"Exactly,"  remarked  the  Doctor,  "and  what 
stumps  me  is,  what  such  a  well-educated  fellow 
wants  to  go  to  war  with  his  betters  for,  unless," — 
and  the  Doctor  placed  his  eye-glass  firmly  in  his 
right  eye  and  thought, —  "  unless  it  is  something  to 
do  with  that  girl  Wahpering  says  he  has  carried 
off." 

"You  have  guessed  it,  Doctor,"  broke  in  the  qui 
et,  even  voice  of  the  Panglima,  who  had  noiselessly 
entered  the  room.  "And  this  is  a  good  opportu- 


32  THE   PANGLIMA    MUDA. 

nity  to  warn  you  against  guessing  out  loud.  You 
Americans  are  given  to  guessing,  you  know.  If 
you  will  take  the  trouble  to  look  through  the  open 
places  in  your  floor,  you  will  see  two  sentinels  be 
low,  one  of  whom  understands  English." 

The  Chief  took  his  seat  beside  Beach.  "I  am 
glad  you  like  the  brand.  Havanas  don't  keep  in 
this  climate." 

"  Which  means,  I  suppose,"  growled  the  Doctor, 
ignoring  the  last  remark,  "  that  we  can  take  our 
choice  between  guessing  to  ourselves  and  being 
treated  to  the  lash." 

"  Not  at  all,  my  dear  Doctor,"  replied  the  Chief, 
puffing  at  his  cigar.  "That  would  be  equivalent  to 
a  declaration  of  war  between  the  United  States  and 
Semantan.  Come  outside  and  smoke,  and  I  will 
tell  you  a  story  that  will  sound  better  coming  from 
me  than  from  your  old  headman,  and  possibly  save 
him  another  correction." 

In  front  of  the  bungalow  they  found  three  rude 
chairs. 

"  I  had  these  made  since  your  arrival,  knowing 
your  preference  for  them.  Tomorrow,  you  will  have 
a  table.  Be  seated.  I  will  order  the  coffee." 

The  full  red  moon,  just  level  with  the  wooded 
tops  of  a  low  range  of  hills  across  the  river,  poured 
a  flood  of  golden  light  into  the  stockade,  and  against 
the  impenetrable  sides  of  the  jungle  beyond.  The 
turbid  waters  of  the  river  became  molten,  save 
where  the  dark  outlines  of  a  princely  palm  set  its 
black  signet,  or  a  maze  of  tangled  mangrove  roots 
traced  a  square  of  weird  hieroglyphics  across  its 
face.  The  lunge  of  a  crocodile  cast  a  shower  of 


THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA.  33 

phosphorescent  sparks  about  its  log-like  form,  and 
awakened  a  score  of  boatmen  who  were  sleeping 
outside  the  fort.  From  a  low  shed  in  front  came 
the  soft,  monotonous  chant  of  Mohammedans  at 
prayer ;  first,  the  low,  melodious  solo  of  the  priest, 
then  the  perfectly  attuned  responses.  Through  the 
open  door  they  could  see  them  bowing,  kneeling, 
laying  their  foreheads  on  their  praying  rugs,  stand 
ing  erect,  their  bodies  swaying  gently  to  the  glori 
ous  promises  of  their  prophet.  A  soft  tropical 
breeze  came  from  out  the  jungle,  laden  with  the 
sweet,  delicate  scents  of  the  kamooning  tree. 

The  Panglima  was  in  a  dark  gray  sarong,  a  soft 
black  silken  jacket,  and  patent  leather  pumps.  Dia 
monds  glistened  on  his  shapely  fingers,  and  in  the 
folds  of  his  silken  shirt.  He  took  the  kris  from  his 
waist  and  laid  it  across  his  knees.  The  moon  lit  up 
the  jewels  in  its  golden  scabbard.  Beach  drew  a 
long  breath.  The  Doctor  knocked  the  ashes  off  the 
end  of  his  cigar. 

"By  George,  one  could  almost  be  contented 
here  I " 

" Almost,"  repeated  the  Chief.  "Almost,  on  a 
moonlight  night,  but  never  quite.  Not  after  a  taste 
of  civilization,  and  —  love."  He  paid  no  attention 
to  the  stares  of  wonderment  turned  upon  him  by 
his  listeners,  and  in  his  cold,  even  tones,  went  on. 
"  I  was  sent  to  England  to  be  educated.  The  curate 
of  the  little  village  took  me,  at  the  request  of  the 
Resident  of  Penang,  into  his  family.  The  worthy 
man  thought,  I  learned  later,  that  I  was  an  Indian 
prince, —  such  was  his  knowledge  of  the  geography 
that  he  was  to  teach  me.  For  three  years  I  was 


34  THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA. 

thrown  in  daily  contact  with  the  curate's  only 
daughter.  I  think  I  loved  her  from  the  moment  I 
first  saw  her.  The  three  years  passed  like  a  dream. 
We  studied  the  same  lessons,  read  the  same  books, 
botanized,  rambled,  and  built  air-castles  together, 
—  she,  Tom,  and  myself.  Tom,  the  brother,  was  a 
noble,  manly  fellow,  and  accepted  me  as  a  member 
of  the  little  family  from  the  first.  I  think,  now 
that  I  look  back  on  this  happy  time,  that  the  old 
curate  would  have  been  glad  to  have  seen  me  marry 
Gladys,  for  when  some  returned  civil  servant  from 
Singapore  told  him  that  my  palace  was  nothing  but 
a  palm-thatched  bungalow,  and  not  the  marble  pal 
ace  of  his  dreams,  he  acted  as  though  I  had  deceived 
him,  and  turned  me  out  of  doors  ;  but  not  before  I 
had  proposed  to  the  girl. 

"I  offered  to  live  in  England,  and  take  up  a  pro 
fession.  I  showed  her  that  I  would  have  a  few  hun 
dred  pounds  a  year  as  long  as  my  father,  who  was 
the  Dato  Menti,  or  prime  minister  to  the  Sultan, 
lived,  and  after  that  the  English  government  would 
give  me  his  pension.  It  was  not  a  brilliant  offer, 
and  it  was  not  accepted.  She  cared  for  me  only  as 
a  friend  and  schoolmate. 

"  I  did  not  despair.  One  of  my  race  never  does. 
Tuan  Allah  suka  !  (It  is  as  Allah  wishes.)  I  went 
to  London,  and  was  received  at  Court.  While  there 
the  curate  died,  and  left  his  children  penniless.  I 
offered  myself  again,  and  was  again  refused,  kindly 
but  firmly.  Then  I  asked  the  Resident  of  our  state 
to  give  the  son  employment  under  him.  He  did  so, 
and  we  all  started  for  the  East  together." 

The  Doctor  moved  uneasily  in  his  seat,  and 
scratched  a  match  on  the  sole  of  his  boot. 


THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA.  35 

"  I  will  not  weary  you  with  the  details  of  our  trip, 
or  of  our  life  afterwards.  I  could  not  conceal  my 
passion.  She  pitied  me,  the  rest  laughed  at  me.  The 
little  Residency  town,  with  its  dozen  gossiping  fam- 
iles,  became  a  hell  on  earth.  I  could  not  stay  there ; 
I  could  not  keep  away.  The  white  officers  and  civil 
ians  crowded  about  my  adored  one.  The  tropical 
heat  of  the  place  seemed  to  agree  with  her,  and  in 
tensified  her  beauty. 

"I  left  the  place  and  joined  my  father.  I  became 
a  favorite  of  the  Sultan.  He  raised  me  in  dignity 
in  court,  and  trusted  me  with  his  secrets.  I  became 
all-powerful  in  the  little  kingdom.  The  Sultan^my 
iathejv  the  old  fat  Orang  Kayah  over  there,  were" 
mere  puppets  in  my  hands.  The  Resident  consult 
ed  me,  the  Governor  entertained  me  at  Singapore, 
the  natives  bribed  me,  and  yet  I  was  not  happy. 
My  desire  for  the  white  girl  became  the  one  aim  of  \  / 
my  life.  I  determined  to  win  her  by  means  fair  or 
foul.  There  was  but  one  way  to  get  her  from  under 
the  protection  of  the  English  guns.  I  did  not  hes 
itate.  I  trumped  up  a  means  of  declaring  war  on 
the  English.  The  old  Orang  Kayah,  Pahlawan  or 
Governor  of  Sematan,  had  a  grievance.  The  Resi 
dent  had  forbidden  him  to  oppress  his  people,  and 
to  collect  unjust  tribute,  in  lieu  of  which  a  stated 
pension  was  to  be  paid  him  which  he  indolently  ac 
cepted.  I  knew  that  the  English  government  was 
giving  the  Orang  Kayah  of  another  district  a  much 
larger  pension.  I  whispered  it  in  his  ear.  He  be 
came  sulky  and  revengeful.  I  visited  him  secretly- 
and  urged  him  to  go  to  war.  I  took  the  Sultan's 
chop  to  him,  and  offered  to  see  that  he  was  supplied 


36  THE    PANGLIMA    MUDA. 

with  arms  and  food.  You  have  read  the  rest  in  the 
Singapore  papers. 

"  That  is,  all  but  my  part  in  it.  I  continued  to 
play  the  forlorn  lover,  and  at  the  same  time  I  di 
rected  the  rebellion.  One  night,  while  at  a  New 
Year's  ball  at  the  Residency,  I  had  a  note  sent  to 
Miss  Mead  that  her  brother  had  been  taken  sudden 
ly  ill  and  had  gone  home.  She  did  not  wait  to  say 
goodnight  to  the  hostess,  but  put  on  her  cloak  and 
hurried  across  the  Residency  grounds  to  her  bun 
galow.  Five  of  my  trusted  men  seized  her,  and 
put  her  in  a  swift  prau.  I  was  careful  to  have  them 
see  her  Malay  maid  and  get  all  her  clothes.  I  was 
at  the  ball. 

"  The  next  morning  the  alarm  was  given.  I  was 
the  hottest  in  the  search.  My  grief  was  terrible  to 
witness.  In  a  week  I  was  called  to  the  country  by 
my  Sultan.  I  went  straight  to  where  my  love  was 
in  hiding.  It  is  a  beautiful  place.  I  will  take  you 
there.  She  spurned  me  with  horror  and  aversion. 
I  told  her  the  truth,  but  she  would  not  listen.  I 
groveled  at  her  feet,  but  she  turned  her  back  on 
me.  I  tried  to  embrace  her.  She  drew  a  dagger, 
and  threatened  to  kill  herself.  May  Allah  forgive 
me,  but  she  was  beautiful.  I  laughed  in  her  face. 
I  was  half  crazed." 

The  Panglima  had  forgotten  his  auditors. 

"  Ah !  but  I  will  bring  the  proud  head  to  my  feet. 
I  will  make  her  bow  on  her  bended  knees,  and  plead 
of  me  to  take  her.  There  is  one  place  in  her  heart 
that  I  can  reach.  It  must  be  through  that  brother. 
It  will  take  time,  but  what  is  time.  Bah !  the  timid 
white-haired  English  Governor  will  give  me  time.  I 


THE   PANGLIMA    MUDA.  37 

know  how  to  play  my  cards,  and  I  hold  trumps  !  It 
is  better  to  be  dead  than  to  love  so.  Yet  I  must 
go  on  to  the  end.  Allah  is  just !  " 

The  monotonous,  musical  chant  went  rythmically 
on,  the  subdued  hum  of  the  hundreds  of  voices 
about  them  continued  unheeded,  the  fire  in  the 
chief's  eyes  gave  place  to  a  dull,  hopeless  longing, 
as  though  his  thoughts  belied  his  words.  He  put 
his  hand  to  his  head,  and  then,  rising  slowly,  placed 
his  kris  in  his  sarong,  and  paced  up  and  down  on 
the  sandy  strip. 

A  native  stepped  out  from  the  shadow  of  the 
house  and  touched  his  forehead.  The  Panglima 
paused  in  his  walk  and  listened.  Turning  to  the 
two  he  said  quietly,  and  without  the  least  show  of 
his  former  emotion  :  — 

"A  messenger  from  the  Orang  Kayah.  Spies 
bring  word  that  an  expedition  is  coming  up  the  riv 
er  to  attack  the  stockade." 

He  snapped  his  fingers  and  laughed  bitterly. 
"  An  expedition  of  fifty  Sikhs,  two  hundred  Malays, 
and  four  white  men.  I  could  wipe  them  out  of  ex 
istence,  if  I  chose.  Why  should  I  kill  the  poor 
devils  !  I  will  have  my  sharpshooters  pick  off  the 
Englishmen,  and  then  the  rest  will  stampede.  The 
next  time  they  will  send  twice  as  many,  we  will 
shoot  a  few  for  appearance,  and  retreat  to  the  jun 
gle,  and  build  another  stockade.  That  will  cause 
two  more  expeditions.  After  they  have  taken  a  half 
dozen  stockades  and  lost  a  half  dozen  officers,  they 
will  have  had  glory  enough,  their  milk-and-water 
governor  will  telegraph  to  London  that  the  rebel 
lion  is  crushed, —  blind  fools  !  Good  night.  There 


38  THE   PANGLIMA    MUDA. 

may  be  fighting  tomorrow,  you  will  see  how  we 
amuse  ourselves  playing  at  Liberty,  Equality,  Fra 
ternity." 

The  two  men  smoked  on  in  silence,  each  busy 
with  his  own  thoughts. 

"What  bothers  me,"  said  the  Doctor,  throwing 
the  stub  of  his  cigar  at  a  pariah' dog  that  was  prowl 
ing  in  the  shadow,  "is  what  part  he  expects  us  to 
act  in  this  beautiful  outrage." 

Beach  arose,  yawned,  and  stretched  his  handsome 
form.  The  moonlight  fell  on  his  blonde  hair,  and 
gave  it  a  richer  tinge.  He  gazed  out  over  the  river 
and  up  at  the  sky,  and  then  with  an  affected  air  of 
indifference  said  in  French  :  — 

"You  remember  we  are  watched,  my  dear  Mon 
sieur,  in  two  languages,  and  if  we  take  a  part  credit 
able  to  ourselves  we  must  exhibit  no  interest  what 
ever.  Depend  on  it,  sooner  or  later  he  will  unbur 
den  his  mind,  and  so  long  as  we  are  prisoners  we 
must  shape  our  sails  to  the  wind.  There  are  three 
of  us.  I  think  we  may  count  on  Wahpering,  and  if 
we  act  together  we  ought  to  be  able  to  head  the 
outlaw  off.  Let  us  forget  everything  but  the  com 
ing  battle." 

The  Doctor  sprang  to  his  feet  and  slapped  the 
speaker  between  his  broad  shoulders. 

"You  are  the  leader.  Kick  me  if  I  misbehave. 
Shall  we  turn  in  ?  " 

A  cloud  passed  over  the  moon.  A  low,  thrilling 
growl,  a  crash,  a  thud,  and  a  cry  of  mortal  agony, 
came  from  beyond  the  stockade.  A  drowsy  sentinel 
cried,  "ffarimqu/"  —A  tiger!  —  and  sent  a  ball 
into  the  jungle.  The  moon  came  from  under  the 


THE   PANGLIMA    MUDA.  39 

cloud,  and   the   hum  of   conversation  rose  fitfully 
from  the  surrounding  sheds. 

Beach  shuddered,  and  followed  the  Doctor  up  the 
ladder 


40  THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA. 


V. 

THE  next  morning  as  Beach  descended  the  ladder 
he  uttered  an  exclamation  of  surprise  that  caused 
the  Doctor  to  pause  in  the  midst  of  the  inspection 
of  his  bottles,  and  put  his  head  out  the  narrow  win 
dow  of  his  room. 

Everything  was  changed  within  the  little  fort. 
The  stockade  had  been  closed  on  all  sides,  and  trees 
fallen  across  the  jungle  path.  The  guns  were  being 
loaded,  the  boats  sent  up  the  river  with  the  Orang 
Kayah's  household  and  valuables,  and  the  attap 
sheds  were  being  pulled  down. 

Half  a  hundred  men  were  outside  in  the  open, 
driving  aslant  into  the  sandy  soil  and  carefully  con 
cealing  in  the  wiry  lallang  grass  spikes  of  bamboo, 
which  had  been  pointed  and  hardened  in  the  fire. 

"Nasty  things  to  bark  one's  shins  on,"  muttered 
Beach,  as  he  realized  their  true  import.  "Ever 
meet  anything  like  that,  Doctor,  at  the  front  ?" 

"  Never,"  replied  the  Doctor  decisively.  "  They 
are  enough  to  break  one  of  Sheridan's  charges. 
When  I  was  in  the  Wilderness—  An  explosion 
checked  the  Doctor's  reminiscence,  and  a  piece  of 
shell  cut  through  the  woven  sides  of  the  house. 

A  small  brass  lelah  had  exploded  in  the  act  of 
loading,  and  torn  two  men  to  threads.  The  officer 
in  charge  cut  down  the  remaining  man  and  stalked 
off  to  the  next  gun. 

The  Doctor's  face  grew  red  with  passion  but  be 
fore  his  wrath  could  find  vent,  a  messenger  sprang 
up  the  ladder  and  announced, — 


THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA.  4! 

"The  Panglima!" 

The  Doctor  planted  his  monocle  firmly  in  his  eye, 
and  returned  the  Chief's  pleasant  "  Good  morning  " 
with  a  wrathful  stare.  Beach  watched  the  remains 
of  the  gunner  go  over  the  stockade.  The  Pangli 
ma  glanced  carelessly  in  the  same  direction. 

"Ah,  yes,  a  very  annoying  accident.  One  of  our 
best  guns  burst.  A  brass  lelah  from  the  Sultan's 
prau.  Its  loss  may  turn  the  tide  of  battle." 

"An  innocent  man  was  murdered,"  hissed  the 
Doctor,  never  taking  his  eyes  off  the  Malay's  face. 

The  Panglima  shrugged  his  shapely  shoulders. 

"  Possibly  !  I  am  sent  by  His  Excellency  to  re 
quest  that  you  attend  him  at  once.  There  may  not 
be  another  opportunity.  In  the  course  of  another 
two  hours  the  fortune  of  war  may  send  us  into  the 
jungle." 

The  two  men  bowed  coldly,  and  followed  the 
Chief  down  the  main  street  to  the  audience  cham 
ber. 

Going  up  the  ladder  of  the  only  other  bungalow 
but  their  own  in  the  stockade,  they  were  ushered 
without  ceremony  into  the  presence  of  a  fat,  kindly 
old  Malay,  whose  scanty  white  hair  and  mustache 
set  off  a  deeply  wrinkled  face  and  brilliantly  stained 
lips  and  teeth,  and  gave  to  his  general  air  of  insig 
nificance  a  suggestion  of  dignity.  A  checked  silk 
sarong  which  fell  over  a  pair  of  soldier's  coarse 
trousers,  a  faded  cotton  shirt,  a  British  officer's  tu 
nic,  and  soiled  carpet  slippers  clinging  loosely  to 
bare  feet,  did  not  combine  to  impress  his  prisoners 
with  the  honor  accorded  them.  Around  his  wrists 
were  heavy  gold  bracelets  of  native  manufacture, 


42  THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA. 

and  in  the  front  of  his  rimless  cap  was  a  cluster  of 
brilliants  set  in  the  form  of  his  Sultan's  coat-of- 
arms.  Standing  on  either  side  was  a  guard  hold 
ing  a  drawn  kris. 

The  Panglima  bowed  low  as  they  entered,  and 
His  Excellency  took  his  hand  out  of  a  golden  bowl 
from  which  he  was  eating  curry,  and  gave  it  to  him 
to  kiss,  and  smiled  pleasantly  on  his  visitors. 

Beach  returned  the  smile,  and  repeated  respect 
fully,  "Tabek,  Unku  ! "  unmindful  of  the  Doctor's 
snort  of  disgust. 

There  was  a  ceremonious  hush  while  the  old  man, 
according  to  official  etiquette,  chewed,  with  mouth 
distended  and  eyes  half  closed,  the  neatly  rolled 
quid  of  betel  that  an  attendant  handed  him.  After 
the  lapse  of  the  time  required  for  its  consumption, 
with  a  dexterous  movement  of  his  tongue  he  pushed 
the  red  mass  between  the  upper  lip  and  his  teeth, 
and  opened  his  eyes  pleasantly. 

The  Panglima  cut  any  further  exchange  of  civil 
ities  short  by  a  few  whispered  words  in  the  old 
man's  ear,  to  which  the  Orang  Kayah  answered 
with  a  nod. 

"  His  Excellency  wishes  me  to  express  to  you,  in 
his  presence,  his  great  sorrow  at  having  to  detain 

you  for  even  the  space  of  an  hour  within  his  gates, 
» 

The  heavy  boom  of  a  great  gong  was  heard  out 
side,  and  one  of  the  guards  sprang  to  the  window. 

"  And  wishes  me  to  assure  you  that  you  will  be 
released  as  soon  as  we  have  repulsed  the  attack 
which  we  have  reason  to  expect  at  any  moment. 
He  makes  one  condition,  which  he  puts  in  the  form 
of  a  request." 


THE    PANGLIMA   MUDA.  45 

Again  the  heavy  boom  broke  in  upon  the  Pangli- 
ma's  words.  The  Orang  Kayah  glanced  uneasily 
at  his  guard,  who  was  stationed  at  the  window. 

"He  asks  you  to  go  to  Johore,  on  your  return  to 
Singapore,  and  see  His  Highness,  the  Maharajah, 
the  friend  of  the  English  and  the  once  Emperor  of 
Malaya,  and  lay  his  case  before  him,  so  that  he  may 
intercede  with  the  English  governor  to  forgive  him 
for  this  rebellion,  and  take  him  back  into  his  con 
fidence.  His  Excellency  awaits  your  answer." 

Beach  pushed  in  front  of  the  Doctor  before  he 
could  open  his  lips,  and  bowing,  answered  quietly 
and  firmly, — 

"We  agree." 

The  Panglima  started,  and  bit  his  lips  angrily. 

The  Orang  Kayah  arose,  and  ended  the  audience. 

"  For  heaven's  sake,"  whispered  Beach,  as  they 
returned  to  their  bungalow,  "keep  your  temper. 
Don't  you  know  the  Panglima  well  enough  to  im 
agine  that  he  has  no  intention  of  allowing  us  to  es 
cape,  much  less  of  permitting  such  a  message  to 
be  taken  to  Johore  ?  It  would  be  death  to  all  his 
ambitions.  It  is  just  as  well  to  keep  on  the  good 
side  of  the  old  fellow.  He  does  n't  seem  to  be  a 
bad  sort.  Did  n't  you  see  that  the  Panglima  ex 
pected  us  to  refuse  the  Orang  Kayah's  offer  ?  Hel 
lo  !  there  goes  the  gong  again  !  " 

The  Doctor  watched  in  moody  silence  a  party  of 
laborers  crowd  through  the  small  river  gate.  The 
deep  boom  of  the  gong  sounded  a  warning  to  all 
stragglers  outside  the  fort.  Beach  slipped  his  arm 
about  his  companion's  shoulders. 

"  Don't  take  it  to  heart,  Doctor.     We  have  more 


46  THE    PANGLIMA   MUDA. 

important  things  to  worry  about.  Come  up  on  the 
veranda  and  watch  the  battle." 

"Beach,  I'm  a  hot-headed  old  ass  ! " 

"  I  don't  believe  it.  Up  you  go.  Hello  !  they  are 
at  it ! " 

A  few  desultory  shots  greeted  the  sound  of  axes 
from  the  opposite  jungle. 

Suddenly  the  frantic  beating  of  the  gongs  an 
nounced  the  approach  of  the  enemy.  A  file  of  red 
turbans  issued  from  the  jungle  path,  and  a  dozen 
tall  Sikhs  moved  cautiously  into  the  open. 

Without  waiting  for  the  word  of  command,  the 
Malays  within  the  stockade  began  a  furious  fusilade. 
The  Sikhs  ran  forward  a  few  paces,  dropped  on 
their  knees,  and  returned  the  volley.  A  Malay  fell 
dead,  another  was  wounded.  More  Sikhs  pushed 
forward  over  the  hidden  obstructions,  dragging  a 
small  field-piece.  A  half  hundred  Malay  police 
came  into  sight,  and  received  the  jeers  of  their 
countrymen  behind  the  stockade. 

Four  white  officers  in  cork  helmets  and  brown 
kaki  uniforms  were  directing  the  attack.  The  gun 
was  brought  to  bear,  and  a  ball  crashed  through 
the  stockade.  At  the  same  instant  a  brass  lelah 
sent  a  shot  into  the  midst  of  the  gunners,  and  put 
to  flight  a  party  of  police  that  were  forming  to 
storm  the  breach  made  by  the  single  shot  in  the 
flimsy  wall. 

"  What  strikes  me  as  peculiar,"  remarked  Beach, 
surveying  the  interior  of  the  fort  attentively,  "  is 
that  the  Orang  Kayah's  people  seem  to  take  so  lit 
tle  interest  in  the  attack.  There  is  a  group  over 
there  squatting  on  their  feet  eating  rice ;  farther  on 
there  is  another.  I  can  see  a  number  bowing  and 


THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA.  47 

kneeling  in  the  mosque.     Not  more  than  half  are 
on  the  defensive." 

"That  is  our  policy,"  answered  the  Panglima, 
joining  them  on  the  platform.  "  We  cannot  afford 
to  be  aggressive.  If  we  were,  we  should  be  exter 
minated.  We  learned  something  in  the  Perak 
War.  In  it  we  made  the  mistake  of  killing  the  Res 
ident  at  the  start.  In  three  days'  time  our  coasts 
were  lined  with  warships,  and  our  country  filled 
with  British  regulars.  Every  rebel  was  hunted  down, 
—  not  the  greatest  among  them  spared,— and  the 
Sultan  who  had  remained  neutral  was  deposed  for 
remaining  neutral.  So  long  as  we  don't  kill  a  Res 
ident  or  a  colonel  we  are  let  alone,  save  for  a  poor 
little  expedition  like  this  one.  The  governor  at 
Singapore  is  afraid  of  his  money,  and  afraid  of  the 
glory  his  general  would  win  in  putting  down  the 
rebellion,  and  that  charming  gentleman,  the  Resi 
dent,  is  tied  hand  and  foot  by  official  red  tape." 

Turning  to  a  Malay  that  stood  below,  he  spoke 
a  few  words  in  his  native  tongue.  The  soldier  as 
cended  the  platform,  raised  his  express,  took  care 
ful  aim,  and  fired.  A  white  officer  who  was  direct 
ing  the  firing  of  a  gun  threw  up  his  arms  and  fell 
across  it. 

"You  wretch!"  exclaimed  the  horrified  Doctor,     v  ' 
"That  was  a  cold-blooded  murder, —  yes,  murder, 
and  you  will  swing  for  it  yet,  do  you  hear  ! " 

The  Panglima  only  smiled. 

"  They  expect  it.  He  was  probably  only  a  police 
officer.  It  makes  good  reading  for  the  Singapore 
papers, —  something  to  telegraph  home.  That  is  the 
second  one  today.  They  won  't  fight  much  longer." 

The  Chief  descended  the  ladder,  touched  his  fore- 


48  THE    PANGLIMA    MUDA. 

head  with  his  finger  and  disappeared.  In  ten  min 
utes  the  firing  ceased.  The  attacking  force,  taking 
with  them  their  dead  and  wounded,  retreated  un 
molested  into  the  jungle.  The  gongs  became  quiet 
and  the  gates  were  thrown  open. 

The  thermometer  stood  at  158  degrees.^  The 
hard-packed  soil  of  the  stockade  reflected  the  direct 
rays  of  the  sun  with  a  naked  intensity.  Not  a 
breath  of  air  relieved  the  relentless  glare  of  the 
earth,  the  river,  or  the  glazed  sides  of  the  jungle. 

The  Doctor  clapped  his  hand  to  his  eyes  and 
darted  inside.  Beach  followed. 

"I  wouldn't  fight  in  that  sun  even  under  the 
Stars  and  Stripes,  and  with  James  G.  Blaine  look 
ing  on.  I  suppose  it  is  all  very  interesting  to  an  old 
soldier  like  you,  but  it  reminds  me  of  a  bricklay 
ers'  strike  in  New  York's  eighth  ward." 

The  Doctor  snorted  disdainfully. 

The  week  that  succeeded  the  attack  was  one  of 
hard  work  and  keen  enjoyment  to  the  Doctor.  He 
was  relieved  of  the  Panglima's  calm,  imperturbable 
face,  and  was  given  permission  to  hunt  and  botan 
ize  at  will.  His  joy  at  snaring  a  glorious  Argus 
pheasant  was  irritating  to  Beach,  who  chafed  at 
his  imprisonment,  and  would  not  take  advantage 
of  the  offered  parole. 

Yet  he  could  not  restrain  the  pleasure  he  felt  at 
the  chieftain's  return.  The  week's  self-inflicted  con 
finement  had  conquered  his  pride,  and  he  would 
have  welcomed  the  face  of  his  worst  enemy.  The 
Chief  recognized  and  acknowledged  the  show  of 
feeling. 

"  I  am  truly  sorry  for  this  miserable  week,"  he  said, 
extending  his  hand.  "  I,  too,  have  been  miserable." 


THE   PANGLIMA    MUDA.  49 

Beach  looked  up  quickly.  There  was  a  ring  in  the 
Chief's  voice  that  recalled  the  story  of  his  passion. 
The  Panglima  dropped  his  eyes  before  the  close 
scrutiny  of  the  man. 

"  Yes,"  he  went  on,  "  I  hope  it  will  be  but  a  few 
days  longer,  this  confinement  of  .yours.  We  evacu 
ate  the  fort  tomorrow.  There  is  a  larger  force  un 
der  an  Honorable  Major  from  Singapore  on  its  way 
up  the  river.  It  would  never  do  to  let  them  think 
that  we  dared  to  hold  out  against  so  large  a  force. 
A  number  of  the  Sultan's  praus  will  come  up  stream 
tonight,  as  though  on  a  trading  voyage.  We  will 
attack  and  capture  them,  and  go  on  up  the  river 
to  another  stockade.  I  have  arranged  to  send  our 
learned  friend's  zoological  collection  down  to  Tem- 
erloh,  where  it  will  be  held  until  called  for." 

The  Doctor  bowed. 

"  Then  I  am  to  understand  that  we  are  to  continue 
prisoners  irrespective  of  our  nationality  and  official 
positions,"  asked  Beach,  the  color  rising  to  his  tem 
ples. 

"  You  are  my  honored  guests  until  such  a  time  as 
I  can  send  you  on  the  mission  to  Johore,  which  you 
so  very  kindly  offered  to  undertake  for  His  Excel 
lency,"  replied  the  Panglima,  smiling  sarcastically. 

Shortly  afterwards  the  Sultan's  praus  came  labo 
riously  up  the  stream.  By  dusk  the  campong  was 
deserted.  The  Orang  Kayah,  his  wives  and  attend 
ants,  filled  one  prau.  The  Doctor,  Beach,  Wahper- 
ing,  the  Panglima,  and  the  guards,  another.  The 
natives  embarked  in  sampans  and  river  boats,  while 
more  than  half  the  force  went  across  the  country, 
through  the  jungle. 


50  THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA. 


VI. 

THE  sun  went  down,  and  the  hot  tropical  day  gave 
place,  with  a  rapidity  that  was  startling,  to  a  breeze- 
less,  tropical  night,  The  head  praus  fixed  torches 
in  their  bows.  The  others  followed  in  close  file.  The 
flames  waved  and  danced  and  spluttered  with  the 
motion  of  the  boats,  barely  making  distinct  the 
tunnel-like  formation  of  the  jungle-enclosed  stream. 
Troops  of  monkeys  chattered  and  whistled  in  the 
dense  foliage,  while  hundreds  of  crocodiles  sunk 
quietly  beneath  the  current,  or  glided  noiselessly 
among  the  dark  labyrinth  of  roots. 

A  pair  of  eyes,  like  coals  of  fire,  peered  out  from 
the  darkened  shore,  and  a  low  feline  snarl  caused 
the  oarsmen  to  pull  nervously  at  their  paddles.  The 
mosquitoes  poured  in  on  them  in  swarms,  while  the 
very  darkness  at  times  was  luminous  with  myriads 
of  fireflies,  that  darted  from  tree  to  tree,  or  for  an  in 
stant  settled  in  countless  numbers  among  the  var 
nished  leaves,  and  then  with  a  million  throbs  of  light 
swept  like  a  jeweled  signal  lamp  along  the  surface 
of  the  watery  trail. 

"By  George !"  muttered  Beach.  "It  is  fairyland  ! " 

The  exclamation  caused  the  Panglima  to  raise  his 
head  and  glance  to  the  right  and  left.  The  steers 
man  caught  his  eye  and  spoke  quietly  to  the  oars 
men.  The  rowing  almost  ceased.  One  sampan  after 
another  passed,  and  gradually,  without  exciting  re 
mark,  they  took  their  place  in  the  rear  of  the  flo 
tilla.  Then  the  men  lay  back  on  their  oars,  and  let 
the  current  carry  them  silently  down  the  stream. 


THE   PANGLIMA    MUDA.  5 1 

The  faint,  waxen  glimmer  of  the  rising  moon  found 
its  way  through  the  massy  leaves,  just  making  dis 
tinguishable  the  great  boles  of  the  encompassing 
trees,  and  dimming  the  corruscant  lights  of  their 
convoy  of  fireflies. 

The  Panglima  leaned  over  toward  the  prisoners 
and  said,  "  I  am  very  sorry  that  I  am  forced  to  re 
quest  you  to  let  me  blindfold  you  for  a  very  few 
minutes." 

Wahpering  alone  was  bound  hand  and  foot,  and 
thrown  down  into  the  bottom  of  the  boat.  The 
prau  turned  swiftly  around  and  headed  down  the 
stream.  Then  it  stopped  again,  aucl  they  felt  it 
turn  once  more  against  the  current. 

The  Panglima  whispered,  "  Lower  your  heads." 
The  boat  crushed  slowly  through  a  tangle  of  damp 
foliage,  and  a  fresh,  cool  breeze  fanned  their  faces. 

They  had  emerged  from  the  river  and  were  in  an 
open  stream.  The  trees  were  tall  and  straight,  and 
free  from  underbrush.  The  crescent  moon  played 
in  checkered  spots  among  their  dim  aisles  and  cov 
ered  the  narrow  river  with  a  delicate  tracery  of 
sheen  and  shadow. 

The  chief  removed  the  bandages  with  well  worded 
apologies. 

"This  is  much  pleasanter  than  the  river?"  he 
queried. 

"  Much,"  answered  the  Doctor,  inhaling  a  deep 
breath  of  the  cool  night  air :  "that  river  was  like  a 
cavern ;  the  smoke  of  the  torches  would  have  as 
phyxiated  me  in  another  hour.  But  is  it  out  of  place 
to  ask  where  we  are  going  with  all  this  secrecy  ?  " 

"  Not  at  all.     I  am  taking  you  to  new  fields  and 


52  THE   PANGLIMA    MUDA. 

woods  to  conquer.  To  my  summer  house,  if  I  may 
speak  of  a  summer  resort  in  this  land  of  perpetual 
summer.  I  call  it  Sandringham.  As  you  are  not 
an  Englishman,  you  will  not  resent  it." 

"  I  should  think  you  would  be  the  one  to  resent 
it,"  laughed  the  Doctor,  quite  contented  at  the 
thought  of  the  plandocks,  the  musangs,  the  boars, 
the  tigers,  and  possibly  the  elephants,  he  would  bag. 

The  Panglima  handed  them  a  case  of  manilas 
and  lit  one  himself. 

"  O,  we  feel  no  real  ill-will  toward  the  English,  so 
do  not  object  to  adopting  their  names  and  customs. 
They  are  a  great  improvement  over  the  Dutch,  as 
masters.  We  were  robbed  under  them  and  driven 
to  the  sea.  The  Dutch  are  to  blame  for  the  some 
what  sanguinary  reputation  that  we  have  as  a  race* 
It  is  a  wonder  why  your  great  nations  of  the  earth 
allow  such  a  hard,  grasping,  cruel  little  nation  to 
hold  and  ruin  such  beautiful  islands  as  Java  and 
Sumatra.  I  don't  love  the  English  ;  they^are  vain 
glorious,  conceited,  and  bigoted  :  but  they  have 
some  excuse  for  being  so.  The  Dutch  I  despise 
and  hate.  Look  at  Acheen  —  " 

Suddenly  the  boat  paused. 

The  Panglima  sprang  up. 

"  I  have  quite  forgotten  myself.  I  must  ask  you 
to  put  on  your  bandages  once  more." 

In  a  half  hour  the  keel  grated  on  a  muddy  shore. 
The  Chief  took  the  Doctor's  hand,  and  aided  first 
him  and  then  Beach  to  alight. 

After  an  hour's  hard  walk  along  a  rough  jungle 
path,  they  emerged  once  more  into  the  cool  night 
air.  Torches  flashed  in  their  faces,  and  a  sound  of 


THE   PANGLIMA    MUDA.  53 

hurrying  footsteps  and  a  low  hum  of  voices  reached 
their  ears.  The  deep  baying  of  a  pack  of  hounds 
blended  with  the  shrill  soprano  of  female  voices 
and  the  rougher  tones  of  their  guides. 

The  two  were  left  standing  for  some  moments,  as 
though  forgotten  in  the  general  melee.  The  Doc 
tor's  hand  sought  that  of  his  companion  and  gave 
it  a  reassuring  shake. 

Suddenly  their  bandages  were  stripped  off  from 
behind,  and  they  found  themselves  in  the  midst  of 
a  scene  so  strange  and  fantastic  that  they  could 
hardly  believe  their  eyes.  It  was  all  too  much  like 
a  bit  of  the  Arabian  Nights  Enchantment,  to  step 
from  the  heart  of  a  Malayan  forest  into  the  midst 
of  far-reaching  lawns,  dimly  lighted  tennis  courts, 
and  walks  and  roads  that  might  have  been  on  an  / 
English  country  place. 

The  moon  was  shining  athwart  the  tops  of  the 
massive  jungle  that  towered  like  a  wall  on  all  sides. 
Just  out  of  its  shadow  rose  a  great  attap  bungalow, 
built  up  ten  feet  from  the  ground,  and  surrounded 
on  all  sides  by  wide-spreading  verandas.  A  mam 
moth  banyan  tree  stood  at  one  side  of  the  struct 
ure, -and  the  veranda,  which  ran  out  and  enclosed  it, 
seemed  to  cover  fully  a  half  acre.  The  pendent 
roots  of  the  tree  reached  down  through  the  plat 
form  like  a  maze  of  rustic  pillars.  Reflecting  lamps 
and  painted  glass  Chinese  lanterns  hung  from  this 
natural  ceiling  over  a  table  spread  with  costly  plate 
and  glass. 

Removed  from  the  central  bungalow,  and  partly 
wrapped  in  the  shadow  of  the  forest,  were  the  dim 
outlines  of  several  smaller  bungalows.  A  huge 


54  THE   PANGLIMA    MUDA. 

bonfire  was  burning  in  the  plaza  before  the  house 
and  lights  danced  among  the  trees. 

A  swiftly  flying  night-jar  dashed  close  to  Beach's 
face,  and  the  harsh  cries  of  awakening  peacocks  re 
called  the  prisoners  from  their  absorption. 

"Well,  I'll  be  shot  !"  ejaculated  the  astonished 
World's  Fair  Commissioner. 

"So  —  so '11  —  I!"  echoed  the  man  of  science, 
dropping  the  monocle  in  his  effort  to  recover  his 
senses. 

"  Sandringham,  gentlemen.  Welcome  to  the 
home  of  your  humble  servant,  the  Panglima  Muda 
of  Jempol ! " 

As  neither  answered,  he  went  on  :  "  May  I  show 
you  to  your  rooms  ?  I  am  going  to  invite  you  to  a 
late  dinner  tonight.  So  will  you  kindly  find  your 
way  out  on  to  the  veranda,  under  the  banyan  tree, 
when  the  gong  sounds.  Never  mind  the  dress 
suit,"  he  finished  smilingly.  "  Au  revoir  !" 

A  guard  conducted  them  with  a  surly  "Man," 
(Come,)  up  the  ladder,  across  the  elastic  veranda  to 
the  door  of  two  small  rooms  that  opened  into  each 
other,  with  partitions  of  attap  heavily  hung  with 
Japanese  draperies.  The  floor  was  of  a  black  hard 
wood,  oiled  until  every  light  or  object  cast  flicker 
ing  shadows  along  its  gleaming  surface. 

Their  boxes  were  awaiting  them  and  their  clothes 
were  laid  out  on  the  bed. 

"Humph!"  assented  the  Doctor,  as  he  ran  his 
eyes  over  the  lot.  "Not  a  bottle  broken  ! " 

Beach  threw  off  his  soiled  suit  of  linen  and  with 
a  sigh  of  pleasure  pushed  aside  the  bamboo  chicks 
that  concealed  an  alcove  bath  room,  and  commenced 


THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA.  55 

showering  himself  with  tins  of  water  from  the  cool, 
small-necked  Shanghai  jar. 

As  the  first  douche  of  water  fell  with  a  splash  on 
the  open  floor  and  down  through  it  into  the  dark 
ness  below,  he  heard  a  muttered  exclamation  of 
wrath  and  a  quick  step.  He  whistled  softly  to  him 
self,  and  went  on  with  his  bath. 

As  they  stepped  across  the  dimly  lighted  draw 
ing-room  that  ran  through  the  center  of  the  house, 
Beach  tripped  over  a  heavy  rug,  and  his  hands  came 
down  on  the  key-board  of  a  grand  square  piano,  a 
discordant  crash  breaking  the  stillness  of  the  room. 
Without  a  moment's  hesitation  he  seated  himself 
before  this  latest  surprise,  and  commenced  running 
over  bits  of  the  latest  operas,  popular  songs,  and 
waltzes. 

The  Doctor,  whose  taste  for  music  never  went 
beyond  the  "Star-Spangled  Banner,"  or  "  Marching 
Through  Georgia,"  looked  curiously  at  the  piano, 
and  passed  out  on  to  the  veranda. 

"Let  me  know  when  the  gong  sounds,"  Beach 
shouted  after  him,  and  plunged  into  the  woful  tale 
of  Johnnie  Jones  and  his  Sister  Sue. 

The  folds  of  the  drapery  rustled  in  the  far  end 
of  the  room.  The  heavy  odor  of  Arab-essence  filled 
the  air.  The  draperies  seemed  to  swell  and  fill  out, 
as  though  some  one  was  pressing  against  them. 
Once  a  shapely  brown  hand  grasped  a  curtain,  and 
drew  it  quickly  to  one  side.  Beach  rather  felt  than 
knew  that  several  pairs  of  eyes  were  watching  him 
from  the  protecting  darkness  of  the  softly  swaying 
hangings,  and  it  excited  him  to  dash  from 'one  bril 
liant  instrumental  to  another. 


56  THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA. 

"If  I  'm  playing  to  his  Nibbs's  harem,"  he  thought, 
"  I  '11  have  them  all  out  here  waltzing  in  another 
five  minutes." 

Forgetting  himself  in  the  execution  of  a  difficult 
passage  of  music,  he  neglected  for  a  moment  the 
shadowy  forms  to  watch  the  keyboard.  Something 
white  lay  at  his  feet  and  attracted  his  attention. 
He  stooped  and  picked  it  up.  It  was  a  small  cam 
bric  handkerchief.  In  one  corner  was  written  in  a 
fine  hand,  "Gladys  Mead." 

The  deep,  clear  tones  of  the  gong  came  booming 
up  from  below.  Crushing  the  handkerchief  in  his 
hand  he  stepped  out  on  to  the  veranda.  The  blood 
surged  to  his  head,  and  an  unaccountable  excite 
ment  took  possession  of  him.  He  could  barely  con 
trol  his  voice  as  he  addressed  some  commonplace 
to  his  host.  The  Panglima  regarded  him  intently, 
and  waved  his  hand  gracefully  toward  the  table. 

They  dined  under  the  great  banyan  tree,  and  the 
cooling  swish  of  the  broad  punkah.  It  was  an  ideal 
night,  and  a  perfectly  served  dinner.  The  Doctor 
almost  forgot  his  humiliating  position,  and  allowed 
himself  the  luxury  of  a  time-worn  joke,  at  which  the 
Panglima  laughed  politely. 

Beach  was  preoccupied.  The  finding  of  the  hand 
kerchief  had  altered  the  course  of  his  plans.  He 
had  thought  only  of  his  own  safety, —  now  he  must 
think  of  that  of  another.  He  was  in  the  same  house 
with  the  kidnaped  girl.  She  was  probably  listen 
ing  at  that  moment  to  their  laughter  and  talk, — 
wondering  whether  they  were  friends  or  foes,  dread 
ing  the  hour  when  they  should  finish,  living  a  whole 
life  of  anguish  while  they  calmly  mixed  their  curry 


THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA.  5/ 

and  sipped  their  claret.  All  his  chivalrous  instincts 
were  up  in  arms.  He  could  hardly  retain  his  seat 
during  the  platitudes  of  his  companion  and  the  po 
lite  rejoinders  of  their  host.  At  times  he  felt  that 
he  must  spring  to  his  feet,  and  demand  an  expla 
nation  and  the  girl's  release.  And  then  he  thought 
sardonically  of  what  the  answer  would  be. 

He  worked  his  hand  softly  into  his  pocket,  and 
felt  the  delicate  threads  of  the  handkerchief. 

"  Your  fair  owner  may  come  high,  but  we  must 
have  her!"  he  muttered  inwardly,  clothing  his  he 
roic  resolve  in  the  expressive  slang  of  the  day. 

"The  Queen!"  proposed  the  Panglima,  rising, 
and  the  three  men  emptied  their  glasses  in  unison. 


58  THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA. 


VII. 

THREE  weeks  had  passed  since  that,  eventful  ball 
at  the  Residency. 

The  time  seemed  like  one  long,  horrible  night 
mare  to  Gladys  Mead.  She  had  hardly  realized 
what  was  occurring  during  the  journey  that  followed 
her  capture.  She  had  sunk  from  one  half  conscious 
state  to  another.  She  dimly  remembered  the  reg 
ular  splash  of  paddles,  of  being  placed  in  a  litter,  of 
the  springy  motion  and  long,  rapid  strides  of  her 
bearers,  of  a  moon  high  above  her,  and  of  her  thank 
fulness  to  some  one  who  sat  over  her  and  fanned 
her  for  hours  at  a  time. 

When  she  awoke  for  a  moment  on  a  bed  in  a 
strangely  beautiful  room,  the  kind  brown  face  of  the 
fanner  was  bending  over  her,  trying  to  make  her 
drink  from  a  cup.  She  only  realized  that  it  was 
night,  and  that  she  was  very  tired.  She  drank  from 
the  cup  and  turned  on  her  pillow. 

THE  sun  shining  through  a  low,  barred  window 
across  from  her  bed  fell  full  on  her  face,  and  she 
raised  herself  and  looked  about  her  in  wondering 
surprise. 

A  young  Malay  girl,  dressed  simply  in  a  silken 
sarong  and  kabaya,  opened  the  door  of  the  mosquito- 
house,  approached  noiselessly,  and  then  impulsive 
ly  knelt  down  and  kissed  her  hand. 

"  I  am  Maida,"  she  whispered,  in  the  soft,  liquid 
accents  of  her  people. 


THE    PANGLIMA    MUDA.  59 

Gladys  gazed  inquiringly  into  the  sweet  young 
face.  She  saw  that  the  girl's  teeth  were  unfiled,  and 
her  lips  unstained  with  betel-nut,  and  asked  weak- 

iy,- 

"  You  are  not  a  wife  ? " 

"No,"  she  answered,  blushing  through  her  brown 
skin.  "  I  am  to  be  married  in  two  months  to  His 
Highness  the  Crown  Prince.  I  am  the  sister  of 
Omar,  the  Panglima  Muda  of  Jempol,"  she  finished, 
raising  her  head  proudly. 

"The  sister  of  Omar  Rahman  !  "  exclaimed  Glad 
ys,  springing  to  her  feet.  "  Is  this  his  house  ? " 

"Yes,"  replied  the  girl,  looking  up,  her  eyes  filled 
with  mingled  surprise  and  admiration." 

"Yes,"    she   repeated,    "this   is   Sandringham. 
Dress  and  come  with  me.     It  is  very  lovely." 

"  Where  is  Omar  ?  Who  brought  me  here  ?"  she 
demanded  fiercely. 

"  I  do  not  know.  Hadji  Mat,  the  punghulo,  said 
they  found  you  in  a  boat  floating  on  the  river.  Were 
you?" 

"  Oh,  I  don't  know  !  I  don't  know  !  I  must  have 
been  !  "  And  she  sank  back  on  the  bed,  the  tears 
rushing  into  her  eyes. 

"Don't  cry,"  crooned  Maida,  gathering  up  the 
mass  of  black  hair  that  fell  over  the  girl's  shoul 
ders,  and  touching  the  damp  cheeks  with  her  brown 
fingers.  "Don't  cry.  When  Omar  comes  he  will 
take  you  home,  or  —  "  and  she  paused  and  clapped 
her  hands.  "  You  are  very  beautiful.  Maybe  he 
will  love  you  and  marry  you,  and  then  you  will  be 
my  sister.  I  will  ask  him." 

"  Marry  me  ! "  the  sobbing  ceased  in  an  instant. 


60  THE   PANGLIMA    MUDA. 

"Never:  I  have  told  him  no,  over  and  over."  A 
look  of  hate  and  defiance  came  into  her  eyes. 

The  maid  shrunk  from  her.  Gladys  put  out  her 
hand,  but  the  girl  only  drew  farther  back.  Her 
great  brown  eyes  seemed  to  burn. 

"  You  have  said  no  to  Omar  !  You  call  Omar  a 
villain.  Omar  shall  not  marry  you.  I  will  tell  him, 
and  he  will  make  you  his  mistress.  You  shall  live 
with  Fatima,  Zella,  Kisha,  and  the  rest,  and  they 
will  paint  your  white  skin  and  dress  you  in  a  sa 
rong,  and  tear  your  black  eyes  out.  I  will  call 
Mamat,  and  you  will  see !  " 

She  sprang  toward  the  door. 

"  Maida,"  said  Gladys  beseechingly,  "  come  back. 
Forgive  me.  I  am  very  sad.  Be  good  to  me.  I 
danced  with  Omar  at  the  Residency.  He  could  not 
have  done  this  !  " 

Maida  paused  irresolutely.  Curiosity  triumphed, 
and  she  came  back. 

"  Did  you  dance  with  Omar  ?  O  how  I  should  love 
to.  When  I  am  married  to  Prince  Abdullah  I  shall 
give  a  ball  at  the  Istana,  and  you  shall  come  and 
dance  with  Omar.  You  shall  dance  with  Abdullah, 
if — if  —  you  promise  not  to  make  love  to  him." 

Maida  was  the  prisoner's  daily  companion.  Save 
for  the  servants  that  brought  their  meals,  and 
Mamat  the  eunuch,  who  accompanied  them  on  their 
walks,  she  saw  no  one.  They  roamed  at  will  over 
the  big  bungalow,  played  tennis  after  the  sun  had 
lost  some  of  its  fierce  intensity,  dined  on  the  ver 
anda  under  the  curious  old  banyan  tree,  and  spent 
hours  before  the  piano  in  the  dimly  lighted  draw 
ing-room.  Zella,  Fatima,  and  the  women,  would 


^^-^^ 

0»  THS^-S3 


THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA.  63 

glide  noiselessly  along  the  veranda,  and  listen  from 
behind  the  bamboo  chicks,  and  glide  away  as  noise 
lessly  as  they  came. 

The  grounds  of  the  great  compound  outside  had 
been  laid  out  by  the  Kebun  Besar  of  the  Sultan's 
gardens  at  Pekan.  Softly  mottled  crotons,  whose 
leaves  were  a  perpetual  reminder  of  the  maples  in 
the  autumn  at  the  old  Rectory  at  home ;  bourgain- 
villias, —  one  vivid  mass  of  solferino  ;  hibiscus,  con 
volvulus,  and  alamander  bushes,  dotted  the  beauti 
fully  kept  lawns,  and  stood  out  in  grateful  relief  to 
the  dark  green  background  of  the  jungle. 

A  row  of  flamboyants  and  spathodias  lined  the 
circling  walks  and  littered  the  red  earth  with  their 
red  petals. 

It  was  a  botanic  chaos.  Banyan  and  sacred  war- 
inghan  trees,  covering  great  stretches  of  ground, 
dropped  their  fantastic  roots  into  the  steaming 
earth  like  living  stalactites.  Ponds  were  covered 
with  the  sacred  lotus,  blue  lilies,  and  the  flesh-col 
ored  cups  of  the  superb  Victoria  Regia.  Monkeys 
swung  from  the  rope-like  tendrils  of  the  rubber 
vines,  and  spotted  deer  gamboled  beneath  the  shade 
of  the  mango  trees.  The  heavy  odors  of  the  gar 
denia  and  the  dragon  orchid  filled  the  air,  and  min 
gled  with  the  perfumes  that  came  sweeping  from 
a, plantation  of  pepper,  coffee,  and  pineapples. 

For  a  week  Gladys  almost  forgot  her  troubles  in 
the  surprise  of  her  surroundings.  She  convinced 
herself  that  she  had  really  been  picked  up  by 
Omar's  men,  that  perhaps  she  had  been  rescued  by 
them  from  the  dreaded  Orang  Kay  ah  and  brought 
here  for  safe  keeping,  that  her  brother  would  soon 


64  THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA. 

join  her  and  take  her  back.  She  even  felt  a  twinge 
of  remorse  at  her  treatment  of  the  Panglima. 

She  could  never  marry  him.  She  had  only  been 
nice  tQ-Jjim  to  please  her  father.  She  hated  hisj>elf;_ 
ish,  oily,  catlike  ways,  and  yet  he  had  been  very  kind 
to^them.  Sometimes  she  would  sit  for  hours  and 
dream  of  what  her  life  would  be  as  his  wife,  and 
then  with  a  shudder  of  disgust  would  go  to  the  pia 
no  and  play  until  the  hateful  dreams  had  passed. 

Maida  humored  her  fair  companion's  spells  of  de 
spondency,  and  in  her  own  simple  mind  ascribed 
them  to  a  secret  longing  for  Omar's  presence. 

The  Panglima  appeared  before  them  one  day,  as 
they  were  seated  on  the  veranda  playing  with  a  pet 
wah  wah.  She  looked  up  and  smiled  sweetly, 
while  Maida  ran  and  threw  her  arms  about  her 
brother's  neck.  He  came  close  up  to  Gladys's  side, 
and  stroked  the  silken  head  of  the  monkey. 

"  Is  my  brother  here  ? " 

"  No,"  he  answered  briefly,  looking  steadily  down 
into  her  face. 

She  blushed  angrily  under  his  gaze  and  arose. 

"  Have  you  come  to  take  me  back  ? " 

"  Are  you  not  contented  here  ? "  he  asked,  ignor 
ing  her  question. 

She  looked  at  him  in  amazement,  her  eyes  flash 
ing,  her  lips  quivering  with  excitement.  "  Content 
ed  here  ? "  she  echoed.  "  Please  explain  yourself !  " 

He  glanced  uneasily  from  her  to  his  sister. 

"  You  may  go,  Maida.  Will  you  come  into  the 
drawing  room,  Gladys  ?  " 

"No!  Don't  call  me  Gladys.  You  presume  on 
a  childish  acquaintance.  Explain  yourself  here." 


THE  PANGLIMA  MUDA.  65 

"  As  you  will !  "  .he  answered,  speaking  slowly  with 
a  distinctness  that  caused  the  girl  to  listen  in  spite 
of  herself. 

"  Your  lightest  wish  has  always  been  my  law.  I 
brought  you  here — " 

"  O,  you  brought  me  here!"  she  sneered.  "I 
did  not  credit  you  with  so  much  courage.  Proceed, 
pray." 

"  I  brought  you  here  where  you  could  be  away 
from  the  influence  of  that  gossiping  station, —  with 
its  old  women,  disgruntled  men,  and  beardless  sub 
alterns.  I  brought  you  here  where  I  could  have 
your  society  once  more  as  in  the  days  when  we 
were  school  children  together.  I  hoped  that  once 
away  from  lying  tongues  you  would  look  kindly  on 
my  suit  and  leave  here  as  —  my  wife." 

The  girl  staggered  back  and  threw  up  her  hands 
as  though  to  protect  herself.     The  blood  left  her 
face  as  she  stood  looking  into  the  eager,  cruel  eyes 
before  her ;  then  she  sank  down  on  a  bamboo  seat, 
and  broke  into  an  uncontrollable  flood  of  weeping. 

"As  your  wife  !  —  Never — I  would  rather — die  !" 

The  silver  wah  wah  pressed  close  to  his  mistress's 
skirts  and  chattered  and  whistled  with  fright. 

The  Panglima's  hand  sought  the  handle  of  his 
kris,  and  then  with  a  muttered  curse  grasped  the 
leg  of  the  pet,  and  with  a  lightning-like  movement 
dashed  his  brains  out  against  the  bole  of  the  great 
banyan. 

A  week  later  he  came  to  her  again,  and  told  her 
of  a  battle  with  the  English,  of  how  he  had  captured 
two  Americans,  whom  he  promised  to  bring  to  San- 
dringham  to  enliven  her  visit. 


A 


66  THE    PANGLIMA    MUDA. 

She  listened  with  averted  face  and  downcast  eyes, 
until  suddenly  in  a  burst  of  passion  he  grasped  her 
hand,  bore  it  to  his  lips,  and  pleaded  for  her  love 
with  a  fervor  that  overwhelmed  her.  He  turned 
from  pleading  to  threats  and  from  threats  to  en 
treaties,  with  a  rapidity  that  allowed  no  answer. 

Once  she  had  tried  to  escape.  She  found  the 
entrance  of  a  path  that  led  into  the  jungle.  It  was 
well  hidden  by  a  network  of  rubber  vines  and  a 
great  bourgainvillia  bush.  Without  a  moment's 
thought  she  darted  into  it,  while  her  companion's 
back  was  turned,  and  ran  on  and  on  down  a  long, 
dusky  aisle  until  she  arrived  breathless  and  faint 
at  the  shore  of  a  narrow  river.  Nothing  but  the 
black  mud-covered  form  of  a  crocodile  sleeping  in 
the  sun  could  she  see  on  either  bank.  The  path 
ended  in  the  river  and  the  impenetrable  sides  of 
the  jungle. 

She  sat  down  and  pressed  her  hands  to  her  burn 
ing  face.  A  feeling  of  utter  despair  came  over  her, 
which  for  the  first  time  made  her  almost  long  for 
death,  so  hopeless  did  it  seem  for  her  to  try  to 
hold  out  against  the  powerful  chief  who  was  deter 
mined  to  make  her  his  wife.  She  could  not  weep, 
only  rock  back  and  forth  and  call  over  and  over, 
—  "My  brother — I  want  my  brother — where  is  my 
brother?" 

So  she  sat  for  an  hour  until  the  eunuch  came  and 
raised  her  and  carried  her  back  to  her  room. 

Afterwards  the  days  had  been  passed  in  moody 
silence.  Plans  of  escape  were  constantly  in  her 
mind.  Her  little  companion  despaired  in  her  at 
tempts  to  make  her  cheerful,  and  would  leave  her 
alone  for  hours  at  a  time. 


DASHED   HIS   BRAINS  OUT   AGAINST  THE   BOLE   OF  THE   GREAT   BANYAN. 


UHI7BRSIT7 


THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA.  69 

The  arrival  of  the  Americans  had  brought  fresh 
hope.  She  had  seen  the  flare  of  torches  that  an 
nounced  their  approach  and  had  heard  the  loud 
orders.  She  had  caught  glimpses  of  dark  forms,  and 
her  heart  had  throbbed  wildly  when  she  found  that 
they  were  to  be  domiciled  in  the  same  bungalow 
with  herself,  only  to  have  it  sink  with  a  sickening 
foreboding,  as  the  gay  ball-room  airs  came  floating 
to  her  ears  from  the  dimly  lighted  drawing-room. 

"A  prisoner  would  never  play  like  that,"  she 
thought,  as  she  pressed  her  face  close  to  the  bars 
of  her  window. 

She  watched  them  at  dinner  until  she  saw  one  of 
them  arise  and  go  staggering  across  the  veranda; 
then  she  drew  back  with  a  shudder  of  disgust,  threw 
herself  on  her  bed  and  tried  to  sleep,  fearing  the 
Panglima,  flushed  with  wine,  would  come  to  renew 
his  entreaties. 

A  moment  later  Maida  entered,  and  went  softly 
across  the  heavily  rugged  floor. 

"  Lady  sleep  ? "  she  asked  quietly,  as  she  stood 
gazing  tenderly  on  the  pallid  face  and  closely  shut 
eyes  of  the  prisoner. 

Going  to  the  night  lamp  she  turned  it  down  and 
went  as  quietly  out,  leaving  the  door  ajar. 


THE  PANGLIMA   MUDA. 


VIII. 

IF  IT  would  have  aided  the  fair  prisoner's  cause 
to  have  sprung  on  the  Chief,  as  he  sat  back  in  his 
chair  smoking  his  choice  manilaand  listening  with 
a  smile  to  the  Doctor's  garrulous  talk,  Beach  would 
not  have  hesitated.  At  times  it  was  with  difficulty 
that  he  restrained  himself. 

The  Doctor  at  the  end  of  one  of  his  long  stories 
suddenly  blurted  out, — 

"  Oh,  I  say,  Chief,  what  have  you  done  with  that 
girl  you  were  telling  us  about  ? " 

The  Panglima  glanced  quickly  at  Beach  and  noted 
his  expectant  look,  and  said  slowly,  as  he  knocked 
the  ashes  from  his  cigar,— 

"  Married  her." 

"Ho!  Ho!"  shouted  the  Doctor,  his  cheeks 
flushed,  and  his  eyes  sparkling  from  the  effects  of 
the  wine. 

"  So  the  minx  could  n't  resist  you,  hey  !  They're 
all  alike,  Chief, — hie  ! — all  alike,  only  want  a  little 
—  hie!  —  urging."  And  the  Doctor  rose  unstead 
ily  from  the  table. 

"Why  don't  you — hie ! — congratulate  him, — hie! 

—  Commissioner?     Can't  you  present  me — hie!  — 
to  what  do  you  call  her  ?  —  hie  !  —  Mrs.  Panglima  ? " 

—  he  went  on,  steadying  himself  on  the  railing  of 
the  veranda.      "  Sh  —  No  ?  —  hie  !  —  well,  then,  gu- 
ten  Abend, —  I  —  hie  !— feel  a  little  shaky.     By-by 

—  hie!" 

The   Panglima  laughed,  and  nodded  good  night. 


THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA.  /I 

Beach  did  not  look  up.  He  felt  mortified  and  out 
raged,  that  his  old,  cool-headed  companion  should 
play  so  easily  into  the  enemy's  hands. 

"The  boasting  old  fool!"  he  muttered,  as  he 
drew  fiercely  at  his  cigar  and  gazed  out  into  the 
night.  "He  is  not  even  a  gentleman." 

The  Doctor  stumbled  into  the  great  drawing- 
room,  talking  and  hiccoughing  to  himself.  As  he 
passed  a  divan  in  a  darkened  corner  he  dropped 
down  on  it  and  listened.  He  heard  some  one  speak 
ing  in  Malay  behind  the  curtains.  Then  the  speak 
er  parted  them  and  came  softly  through,  and  passed 
so  closely  that  the  skirt  of  her  sarong  brushed  his 
knees,  out  on  to  the  veranda  and  down  the  ladder. 

In  an  instant  the  Doctor  was  on  his  feet,  and 
had  drawn  off  his  boots.  Tiptoeing  to  his  own  room, 
he  stood  them  up  by  the  side  of  the  door,  and  then 
felt  his  way  carefully  among  the  mass  of  furniture 
to  the  end  of  the  room.  Opening  the  curtains  that 
stood  in  his  way,  he  found  himself  in.  a  darkened 
vestibule,  at  the  opposite  side  of  which  a  slightly 
opened  door  allowed  a  feeble  line  of  light  to  escape. 
He  moved  slowly  toward  it,  examining  the  passage 
carefully,  foot  by  foot.  Once  the  harsh  cry  of  a 
parrot,  from  a  cage  over  his  head,  caused  him  to 
crouch  among  the  folds  of  the  silken  drapery. 

As  he  neared  the  door,  and  his  eyes  grew  accus 
tomed  to  the  semi-darkness,  he  perceived  that  what 
he  had  taken  for  a  rug  was  the  body  of  a  sleeping 
Malay  stretched  across  the  threshold.  The  blade  of 
his  kris  shone  dully  in  the  line  of  light.  It  had  fallen 
from  his  hand. 

"  Humph  !  I'll  take  that  little  weapon,  in  case  of 


72  THE    PANGLIMA    MUDA. 

accidents,  and  add  it  to  my  Smithsonian  collection/' 
muttered  the  Doctor,  as  he  stepped  over  the  sleep 
er  and  pushed  open  the  door. 

The  light  from  a  heavily  shaded  lamp  behind  an 
Indian  screen  revealed  a  mosquito-house  at  one  end 
of  the  room,  while  it  blended  the  rugs,  screens,  di 
vans,  and  book-case,  in  the  other  end  into  one  com 
posite  mass.  He  did  not  hesitate,  but  went  directly 
toward  the  lamp  to  the  door  of  the  mosquito-house, 
and  peered  in. 

He  could  just  distinguish  the  gracefully  rounded 
outlines  of  a  sleeping  form,  and  hear  its  soft,  regu 
lar  breathing. 

For  a  moment  he  stood  irresolute,  with  his  hand 
on  the  latch. 

"I'm  an  old  man  and  she'll  forgive  me,  I  reck 
on,"  and  he  took  down  his  monocle  slowly,  pressed 
his  kindly  old  face  to  the  netting,  and  whispered, — 

"  Miss  Mead,  Miss  Mead  !  " 

The  form  stirred  uneasily. 

"  The  deuce  !     I  hope  she  does  n't  scream." 

The  Doctor  paused  and  wiped  away  a  few  drops 
of  perspiration  that  had  gathered  on  his  forehead. 

"  If  she  does,  I  '11  have  to  play  drunk  again.  Miss 
Mead!" — he  repeated  more  distinctly, —  "Miss 
Mead  !  It  is  a  friend." 

The  girl  sprang  up  and  reached  for  a  kimono  that 
was  thrown  across  a  chair  by  her  side. 

"  Is  it  you,  Maida  ?  "  she  asked  with  a  frightened 
quaver  in  her  voice. 

"  S-s-h,  Miss  Mead,"  whispered  the  Doctor  again, 
"  do  not  speak  aloud.  I  am  Doctor  Poultney,  a  fel 
low-prisoner.  I  have  stolen  in  to  tell  you  that  we 


THE   PANGLIMA    MUDA.  73 

know  of  your  d-^  barbarous  confinement,  and  to 
tell  you  to  be  readyVhen  we  come  to  rescue  you." 

Gladys  gasped. 

"  Rescue  me  !  O,  you  must  leave  the  room.  You 
will  be  killed  !  How  did  you  get  by  the  guard  ?  Is 
that  not  Omar's  voice  outside  ?  O,  leave  me  !  " 

The  Doctor  turned  his  head  discreetly  to  one  side 
as  the  hysterical  girl  buried  her  face  in  her  bare 
arms. 

"There,  there,  there,  —  little  dear,"  he  answered 
soothingly.  "  Don't  worry  —  that  is,  not  out  loud," 
and  he  glanced  uneasily  at  the  door. 

"I  came  by  the  guard  all  right,  and  here  is  his 
tooth-pick.  Now  —  now  —  that  's  right,  —  I  must  go. 
Don't  forget." 

"But  how  can  you  rescue  me  ?  "  sobbed  the  girl. 

"  Never  you  mind,  little  one.  You  just  dry  those 
pretty  eyes  and  leave  that  to  us.  We  are  Ameri 
cans,  and  we  '11  know  all  about  it  by  tomorrow 


"O  I  must  tell  you,  —  I  am  so  glad  I  thought. 
Behind  the  great  bourgainvillia  that  stands  close 
to  the  jungle  opposite  the  front  of  the  bungalow  is 
the  only  path  out.  It  is  the  one  you  came  by.  I 
found  it  one  day  and  tried  to  escape,  but  it  came  to 
an  end  on  the  bank  of  a  river,  and  there  was  no 
boat." 

A  snore  from  outside  caused  them  to  cease  and 
listen. 

"  How  can  I  get  out  of  here  ?  The  room  is  barred 
and  a  Malay  lies  before  the  door  night  and  day." 

"  And  sleeps,"  commented  the  Doctor  dryly.  "  O, 
we  will  find  a  way."  And  he  stepped  across  the 


74  THE  PANGLIMA   MUDA. 

floor  to  the  low  window  and  laid  his  hand  on  the 
bars. 

"  They  are  only  wood.     Have  you  a  knife  ? " 

She  shook  her  head. 

"  Well,  here  is  mine.  I  '11  trust  you  to  make  the 
best  use  of  it.  Now  good  night.  My  name  is  Jonas 
Poultney,  Ph.  D.,  representing  the  Smith  —  " 

The  men  outside  on  the  veranda  pushed  their 
chairs  back  from  the  table,  and  the  Panglima  said 
distinctly,  so  that  they  both  heard  : — 

"  Good  night.  I  will  find  a  bungalow  that  you  can 
have  all  to  yourselves,  in  the  morning.  I  think  you 
will  find  it  pleasanter.  Embrace  Herr  Doctor  for 
me." 

"The  dev — I  beg  pardon,"  exclaimed  the  Doc 
tor  excitedly,  "that  complicates  matters.  Never 
mind,  brace  —  that  is  to  say,  cheer  up."  And  he 
slipped  out  the  door  and  over  the  Malay  hurriedly, 
for  fear  he  should  commit  further  lapses  of  speech. 

As  he  moved  along  the  wall  of  the  drawing  room 
he  unbuttoned  his  vest,  disarranged  his  collar,  and 
then  threw  himself  on  the  divan  that  was  directly 
in  line  with  Beach's  return. 

"Hello!"  growled  the  younger  man,  "the  old 
fool  was  n't  able  to  get  to  his  bed !" 

The  Doctor  hiccoughed  strenuously,  arose  with  a 
show  of  dignity,  and  staggered  into  his  room. 

"  I  have  seen  her,"  he  whispered  between  hic 
coughs,  as  Beach  helped  him  off  with  his  coat. 

"  Keep  it  up,"  he  cautioned,  with  a  warning  kick 
and  a  glance  at  the  open  spaces  in  the  floor  beneath. 

"  Yes,  I  've  seen  her.  She  's  as  pretty  as  a  pict 
ure  !  Told  her  we  'd  stand  by  her  like  true  Amer- 


THE    PANGLIMA    MUDA. 


leans.  There—  there.  No  questions  now!  I'm 
tired,  if  I  'm  not  drunk  !"  And  in  spite  of  all  the 
younger  man's  impatience  he  threw  off  his  clothes, 
and  disappeared  under  the  silken  meshes  of  his 
mosquito  curtain. 


76  THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA. 


IX. 

THE  next  morning  Beach  and  the  Doctor  were 
transferred  to  a  small,  well  furnished  bungalow  on 
the  edge  of  the  jungle,  some  two  hundred  yards 
from  the  Istana.  All  of  their  arms,  even  to  their 
pocket-knives,  were  taken,  after  which  they  were 
allowed  to  roam  at  will,  always  accompanied  by  an 
armed  attendant.  The  Doctor  took  advantage  of 
every  minute  to  acquaint  himself  with  the  little 
plantation,  to  mark  the  site  of  the  bourgainvillia 
that  hid  the  entrance  to  the  jungle,  and  to  devise  a 
plan  of  operations,  in  case  an  opportunity  occurred 
for  their  escape.  Day  after  day,  during  the  Pangli- 
ma's  absence,  he  botanized,  and  collected  beetles, 
spiders,  and  ants,  seemingly  oblivious  of  his  sur 
roundings. 

Beach  chafed  at  his  companion's  attitude,  and 
grew  moodier  as  the  days  went  by  without  bringing 
any  hope  of  release.  The  Doctor  only  smiled  at 
his  sulky  comments,  and  as  soon  as  the  heat  of  the 
day  was  spent,  would  take  his  hand-net  and  sally 
gayly  forth,  to  chase  a  great  Atlas  moth  or  a  bril 
liantly  hued  butterfly.  The  guard  soon  grew  tired  of 
trying  to  follow  his  zig-zag  wanderings,  and  would 
squat  and  watch  his  charge  from  afar,  oft-times  fall 
ing  asleep  in  the  shade  for  a  few  minutes,  to  awake 
with  a  start,  only  to  find  him  returning  triumphant 
ly  with  some  rare  leaf  insect. 

During  one  of  these  temporary  lapses,  the  Doc 
tor  explored  the  mouth  of  the  jungle  path,  and  dur- 


•*• 


THE   DOCTOR   ON   A  SCOUT. 


UKIVSRSITT 


THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA.  79 

ing  another,  he  was  approached  by  Wahpering,  who 
whispered :  — 

"The  Panglima  come  back  one  week.  A  friend 
hide  boat  up  river  for  Tuans.  When  Panglima  come 
back  and  ask  Tuans  dinner,  kill  him  and  run.  Boat 
ready." 

Beach  had  won  his  guard's  confidence  as  much 
by  his  listlessness  and  indifference  as  the  Doctor 
had  by  his  activity.  He,  too,  had  examined  the 
jungle  path  to  no  great  purpose,  and  once  he  had 
been  so  near  the  window  of  the  fair  prisoner's  room 
as  to  detect  a  white  face  pressed  against  its  bars. 
He  took  from  his  pocket  her  little  handkerchief 
and  waved  it  encouragingly.  An  answering  flutter 
repaid  him  for  the  danger,  and  made  his  heart  beat 
faster  and  his  lips  close  with  a  firmer  determina 
tion. 

When  they  discussed  Wahpering's  plan  of  es 
cape,  Beach  was  eager  to  adopt  it,  even  to  strike 
down  the  Chief  himself,  but  the  Doctor  shook  his 
head. 

"It  is  all  right,  Commissioner,  as  far  as  it  goes, 
but  it  strikes  me  as  lacking  in  details, — par  ex  em- 
pie,  who  is  to  take  charge  of  the  fifty  Malay  soldiers 
and  workmen  that  are  scattered  about  the  grounds, 
and  where  does  the  guard  come  in  ?  lam  fearful 
that  we  should  be  a  unknown  quantity  before  the 
close  of  the  engagement,  and  that  the  World's  Fair 
would  be  without  an  exhibit  from  Malaya.  No,  we 
must  give  it  more  detail." 

"  I  thought  you  were  once  in  favor  of  storming  an 
entire  Malay  fort  single-handed,"  answered  Beach 
doggedly. 


THE   PANGLIMA    MUDA. 

"  I  was  young  and  hot-headed  then,  my  boy.  I 
have  arrived  at  the  years  of  discretion  since.  But 
there,  I  must  see  Wahpering  again,  and  tell  him  to 
amplify,  seeing  you  have  no  wit.  In  the  meantime, 
why  not  have  a  friendly  game  of  poker  ? " 

Beach  turned  angrily  on  his  heel,  and  strode  out 
of  the  room. 

One  evening  just  at  dusk,  Wahpering  brought  a 
bit  of  paper  concealed  in  the  folds  of  his  sarong. 
The  Doctor  opened  it  and  read  :  — 

Omar  has  returned,  bringing  as  prisoners  my  brother  and  Mr. 
Mcllvaine  of  the  Jelebu  Company.  He  threatens  to  kill  them  both 
unless  I  marry  him.  Is  there  no  way  of  escape  ?  Do  you  think  he 
would  dare  kill  my  brother  ?  What  shall  I  do  ? 

GLADYS. 

He  tore  the  note  in  a  hundred  pieces,  and  com 
menced  to  pace  rapidly  up  and  down  the  floor. 

"That  settles  it.  The  brute!  Kill  them?— of 
course  he  would, —  like  dogs." 

Beach  sat  silently  with  his  head  between  his 
hands. 

"  Do  you  hear,  Beach  ?  We  have  got  to  storm 
that  darned  old  castle,  stab  the  Panglima,  and  carry 
off  the  girl.  When  we  release  the  prisoners  there 
will  be  five  of  us.  Are  you  ready  ?" 

"Hardly,"  answered  the  younger  man,  looking 
up.  "  It  now  strikes  me  that  your  plan  is  some 
what  lacking  in  details,  also  that  you  are  talking 
rather  loud.  We  have  no  weapons,  and  are  prison 
ers  in  our  own  house.  I  am  thinking  that  if  we 
wait  for  an  hour  our  captor  may  invite  us  to  dinner, 
as  usual ;  then  I  thought,  perhaps,  that  it  would  be 


THE    PANGLIMA    MUDA.  8l 

a  good  plan  to  knock  his  head  rather  strong  with  a 
wine  bottle,  gag  and  bind  him,  set  fire  to  the  bun 
galow,  and  while  the  guards  and  that  sweet  little 
Maida  are  screaming  for  help,  and  Wahpering  is 
shouting  that  the  Panglima  is  being  roasted,  we 
might  escape  in  the  general  confusion.  In  the 
meantime,  as  you  are  fond  of  saying,  it  would  be  a 
good  idea  to  notify  Wahpering  of  our  plans,  and 
have  him  see  that  the  promised  boat  is  O.  K." 

"  Look  here,  Beach,"  almost  shouted  the  Doctor, 
grasping  his  hand.  "  It's  wrong  to  spring  that  all 
on  a  fellow  at  once.  Take  the  lead.  I  go  back  to 
the  ranks !" 

Beach  smiled  patronizingly. 

"  O,  you  're  all  right,  Doctor,  but  you  lack  prac 
ticability.  You  let  your  fresh  young  blood  get  the 
better  of  your  maturer  judgment.  Wonder  you 
haven't  been  scalped  long  ago." 

"  O  you  go  to  !  "  muttered  the  Doctor,  bristling 
up.  "  Who  do  you  suppose  this  Mcllvaine  is  ?  A 
lover?" 

"  More  than  likely,"  answered  Beach  dryly,  as  he 
went  out  to  seek  Wahpering. 

"  Humph  !  Strikes  me  that  everybody  around 
here  is  either  in  love  or  crazy.  If  this  ever  gets  in 
the  papers  they  will  have  me,  Jonas  Poultney,  on 
my  knees  before  one  of  these  brown-eyed  women 
that  I  see  flitting  about  after  dark.  I  wash  my 
hands  of  the  whole  love-sick  lot." 

When  the  Panglima  returned  he  went  directly 
to  Gladys's  room  and  entered  without  knocking. 
The   girl    did   not   arise   from   the   divan,   only 


' 


82  THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA. 

glanced  up  coldly  at  the  intruder.  He  came  rap 
idly  forward,  and  drew  up  a  stool  at  her  feet  and 
looked  into  her  face. 

"Gladys,"  he  said  hurriedly,  as  though  he  feared 
to  be  interrupted,  "you  know  how  I  love  you.  I 
have  gone  over  and  over  with  my  story  until  you 
are  tired  of  it.  I  know  it  is  useless  to  repeat.  There 
are  some  things,  however,  that  you  do  not  know, 
and  which  I  hoped  you  would  never  know,  but  you 
force  me  to  tell  them.  You  do  not  know  that  this 
war  was  instigated  by  me  on  your  account.  You 
do  not  know  that  indirectly  you  are  responsible  for 
all  the  deaths  that  take  place  during  it.  You  do 
not  know  that  it  will  continue  just  so  long  as  you 
refuse  to  be  my  wife.  You  do  not  know  that  Pekan 
is  in  danger,  that  all  the  white  women  in  the  state 
have  fled  to  Singapore  for  safety,  that  the  Sultan 
is  on  my  side,  and  that  the  Governor  has  refused 
to  take  active  measures  to  put  down  the  uprising., 
You  have  it  in  your  power  to  stop  the  war,  to  save 
numberless  lives  and  thousands  of  dollars  worth 
of  property.  Will  you  ? " 

Gladys  did  not  answer,  feeling  instinctively  that 
she  had  not  heard  the  worst. 

The  Panglima  strove  to  take  her  hand.  She  drew 
it  away  angrily. 

The  Chief  sprang  to  his  feet  and  struck  a  Japa 
nese  table  loaded  with  costly  bric-a-brac  with  his 
clenched  fist. 

The  girl  drew  back  with  a  look  of  disgust. 

"  Do  you  refuse  to  marry  me  ?  Do  you  make 
yourself  responsible  for  all  this  loss  of  life  and  treas 
ure?" 


THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA.  83 

She  did  not  answer. 

Suddenly  he  paused  in  front  of  her,  and  looking 
into  her  face,  hissed, — 

"  And  for  your  brother's  life  ?  " 

The  girl  sprang  to  her  feet  and  grasped  his  arm 
convulsively. 

"  My  brother  !  What  !  have  you  my  brother  in 
your  power  too?  Answer  me!  Is  this  why  you 
took  us  from  England  ? "  Then  she  broke  weakly 
down,  and  buried  her  head  in  the  cushions  of  the 
divan. 

The  Chief  waited  until  the  passion  of  her  sobbing 
had  spent  itself,  and  then  said  :  — 

"Yes,  your  brother  is  here.  I  found  him  with 
our  friend,  Mcllvaine,  just  entering  the  Samantan. 
He  had  left  Temerloh  in  the  morning.  As  they 
were  in  search  of  you,  I  took  the  liberty  of  bring 
ing  them  direct." 

"Dear  Tom,"  she  sobbed.  "I  knew  he  would 
not  leave  me.  Can  I  see  him  ?"  she  sued  pleading 
ly,  her  pride  completely  broken. 

"Yes,"  he  answered,  smiling  exultantly,  "when 
I  can  present  you  as  my  promised  wife." 

"  No  !     Let  him  go.     I  will  not  see  him  ! " 
The  Chief  saw  the  look  that  filled  the  girl's  beau 
tiful  face  at  the  mention  of  his  suit,  and  turned  his 
head  to  escape  it. 

"Gladys,"  he  said  softly,  kneeling  by  her  side, 
"if  by  marrying  me  you  could  save  your  brother 
from  a  great  peril,  would  you  say  yes? —  If  it  were 
the  only  way  you  could  save  his  life  ?  —  answer  me." 
Gladys  raised  herself  slowly,  and  pushing  back 
the  hair  that  had  fallen  about  her  face,  stared  at  him 


84  THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA. 

wildly,  hardly  seeming  to  grasp  the  full  meaning 
of  his  threat. 

He  repeated,  "  If  it  were  the  only  means  of  sav 
ing  his  life?" 

"What!"  she  gasped,  "do  you  mean  that  you 
would  murder  him  ?  " 

"  I  mean  that  you  must  make  your  choice.  I  will 
leave  you  to  decide,"  and  bowing  low  he  pressed 
her  limp  hand  to  his  lips,  and  left. 

As  the  horror  of  her  situation  dawned  upon  her, 
her  frantic  weeping  gave  place  to  the  one  thought 
that  in  some  way  she  must  see  her  fellow  prisoners, 
that  they  might  help  her. 

She  strained  her  eyes,  peering  into  the  dusk 
through  the  bars,  in  the  direction  of  their  bunga 
low. 

"They  will  dine  with  Omar  tonight,"  she  thought, 
"then  I  may  have  a  chance." 

A  Malay  outside  seemed  attracted  by  her  face, 
and  came  near.  She  had  become  used  to  the  curi 
osity  of  the  natives,  and  had  learned  not  to  notice 
it.  Suddenly  her  attention  was  arrested  by  a  low 
hiss.  It  was  twice  repeated.  She  listened.  It 
seemed  to  come  from  under  the  bungalow. 

Raising  the  rug  on  which  she  was  seated,  she 
looked  down  through  the  open  squares  of  the  bam 
boo  flooring,  and  detected  the  outlines  of  a  dark 
figure  directly  beneath. 

"  Mem,"  came  so  softly  from  the  darkness,  that 
she  had  to  place  her  ear  to  the  floor.  "  You  want 
to  send  chit  to  Tuans  ?  I,  Tuans'  servant  —  Wah- 
pering." 

"Whether  he  is  or  not,"  she  thought,  "it  can 


THE    PANGLIMA    MUDA.  85 

do  no  harm,"  and  writing  a  few  hurried  lines  on  a 
bit  of  paper,  she  wrapped  it  around  a  weight  and 
dropped  it  into  the  native's  outstretched  hands. 

It  did  not  occur  to  her  to  question  how  any  one 
that  was  friendly  could  have  passed  the  guards  in 
early  twilight,  she  only  felt  that  she  was  doing  right. 

Exactly  at  seven  o'clock,  as  Beach  had  predicted, 
a  note  bearing  the  Pahang  coat  of  arms  was  hand 
ed  to  the  Doctor.  He  looked  it  over  critically,  and 
muttered:  — 

"  An  invitation  to  dine  is  as  good  as  an  order. 
The  King  wishes  to  be  amused,  and  we  are  the 
court  jesters.  Kasi  tabek  Tunku  !  "  he  said  to  the 
messenger.  "That  is  to  say  in  choice  Malay,  *  We 
accept.'  I  think  we  have  no  previous  engagement. 
Hey,  Beach  ! " 

As  Beach  was  pulling  off  his  boots  preparatory 
to  going  to  bed  after  the  dinner,  despairing  of  find 
ing  an  opportunity  to  carry  out  his  plans  of  escape, 
or  of  aiding  their  fellow  prisoners,  he  heard  a  gen 
tle  tap  on  the  elastic  floor  beneath  his  feet,  and  a 
hardly  audible  "Tuan  !  " 

He  recognized  Wahpering's  voice  and  bent  his 
head  to  listen. 

"Come  quick,  lekas,  with  Tuan  Doctor  out  win 
dow.  Here,  tali"  and  he  pushed  up  through  the 
latticework  the  end  of  a  coil  of  gamooty  rope. 

In  a  moment  Beach  had  made  it  fast  to  the  bar 
of  the  window  and  dropped  it  out  into  the  darkness. 
He  felt  someone  grasp  it,  and  almost  at  the  same 
time  a  black  head  appeared  even  with  the  opening. 

"  Here,  knives." 


86  THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA. 

The  Doctor  took  one  and  Beach  the  other,  and 
set  to  work  on  the  wooden  bars. 

"Hold  on,"  ejaculated  the  Doctor  as  he  threw 
his  leg  over  the  sill  to  descend.  "  You  go  ahead, 
Beach.  I  can't  leave  behind  that  new  specimen  of 
moth, —  belongs  to  the pterophoms  family.  No  rea 
son  that  it  should  not  have  the  name  of  its  finder, 
Poultanii,— " 

"  Out  with  you  ! "  And  Beach  crowded  the  old 
man  through  the  narrow  opening  in  spite  of  all  his 
angry  efforts  to  resist. 

As  they  touched  the  ground,  Wahpering  placed 
in  the  hands  of  each  a  kris,  and  whispered  as  he 
nodded  toward  a  log-like  object  that  lay  at  their 
feet :"  Soldier  die.  Guns  in  boat.  Come."  And 
without  waiting  for  their  questions,  he  dropped  on 
his  hands  and  knees  and  commenced  to  crawl  rap 
idly  Jpward  the  lights  of  the  big  bungalow. 

As  they  neared  the  tendril  roots  of  the  banyan 
tree  he  motioned  them  to  lie  flat  and  wait ;  then 
raising  himself,  he  darted  within  the  shadow  of  the 
veranda. 

In  ten  minutes  he  returned  as  rapidly  and  silent 
ly  as  he  had  left. 

"  Come,  my  brother  on  guard.    Other  guard  die." 

At  the  foot  of  the  great  tree  they  found  a  rope 
ladder  hanging  from  above.  Wahpering  motioned 
them  to  ascend  while  he  held  it  from  swinging. 
Reaching  the  platform  of  the  veranda  by  dropping 
from  the  overhanging  limbs,  they  waited  again, 
while  the  old  headman  crawled  off  toward  the  light 
that  streamed  from  Gladys's  room. 

They  could  hear  distinctly  the  tones  of  the  Pang- 


THE   PANGLIMA    MUDA.  8/ 

lima's  voice —  sometimes  calm  and  low,  at  others, 
high  and  impassioned,  and  the  girl's  broken  sobs 
and  replies. 

"This  is  hell," whispered  the  Doctor,  "to  have 
to  stand  and  listen  to  that  villain  browbeat  that 
helpless  girl." 

Beach  ground  his  teeth,  and  peered  impatiently 
out  into  the  night. 

"Here  he  comes,'*  he  replied,  as  Wahpering 
loomed  into  sight.  "  It 's  our  innings  now  ! " 

Inch  by  inch,  flat  on  their  faces,  they  worked 
along  the  platform,  stopping  at  every  sound,  listen 
ing  for  every  bark  of  the  hounds  or  call  of  the 
guards  as  they  made  their  distant  rounds,  until 
they  gained  a  position  outside  the  low  window 
where  they  could  see  and  hear  everything  that  took 
place  within. 

For  the  moment  the  glare  blinded  them,  and  they 
only  half  realized  the  significance  of  the  scene  be 
fore  them. 

The  Panglima  stood  over  the  cowering  girl,  his 
face  almost  ashy  under  its  flush  of  vivid  red.  The 
scar  on  his  forehead  stood  out  like  a  blot  of  blood 
over  his  eye.  The  diamonds  in  the  handle  of  his 
kris  and  the  diamonds  on  his  hands  flashed  like 
sparks  of  fire  in  the  dilated  eyes  of  the  watchers. 

Standing  against  the  wall  with  their  feet  bound, 
and  guarded  on  either  side  by  Malays  with  drawn 
krisses,  were  the  girl's  brother  and  Mcllvaine.  The 
reflection  of  the  Persian  hanging  lamp  fell  full  up 
on  them. 

One  was  tall  and  fair,  with  broad  shoulders  and 
well  developed  muscles.  His  handsome,  open  face, 


88  THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA. 

which  told  of  his  kinship  to  the  girl,  was  filled  with 
a  quiet  subdued  determination.  His  attitude,  as  he 
leaned  against  the  frail  partition,  was  easy,  almost 
careless.  The  other  came  just  up  to  his  shoulder; 
his  head  was  stretched  forward,  and  his  dark,  ex 
pressive  eyes  were  filled  with  a  fire  of  love  that  his 
watchers  could  not  mistake.  He  had  bitten  his  lip 
until  a  drop  of  blood  shone  against  the  whiteness 
of  his  skin.  The  veins  of  his  neck  and  forehead 
seemed  to  swell  out  like  whipcords  and  the  fingers 
of  his  hands  worked  nervously  against  the  sides  of 
his  shooting  jacket. 

Beach  felt  a  soft  touch  on  his  arm  and  turned  his 
eyes  reluctantly  from  their  faces. 

Wahpering  placed  his  lips  close  to  his  ear  and 
said  :  "  Stay.  No  move.  I  come.  Go  see  my  broth 
er  ready  to  kill  guard  in  house.  No  move.  Prom 
ise?" 

Beach  nodded  hurriedly.  He  was  listening  to  the 
words  that  came  to  him  from  within. 

"  O,  my  God!  My  God,  what  shall  I  do  ?  Tom, 
help  me  to  say  yes."  She  looked  beseechingly 
toward  the  fair-haired  man. 

'•  Tell  me  to  say  yes,  Tom,  my  brother.  Tell  me 
to  say  yes.  I  arn  so  weak  and  selfish.  O,  I  hate 
him  so.  I  cannot,  I  cannot,  but  I  must.  He  will 
kill  you  if  I  do  not  marry  him.  O,  let  me  die !" 

Frantic  with  grief  she  threw  herself  on  the  floor, 
and  dragging  herself  on  her  knees  before  the  Chief 
clasped  her  arms  about  his  legs  and  kissed  his  feet. 

"  O,  Omar,  I  pray  you.  I  beseech  you.  Let  my 
brother  go.  Say  you  will  not  kill  him.  If  you  love 
me,  have  pity  on  me.  I  will  pray  for  you  always. 
I  will  be  your  slave.  What  have  I  done  —  " 


THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA.  89 

"  Gladys,"  spoke  her  brother,  "get  up.  You  for 
get  that  you  are  at  the  feet  of  ajiiggerTj  Tell  you 
to  say  yes,  and  become  the  wife  of  a  black  outlaw 
to  save  my  life !  Never !  Let  him  kill  me  if  he 
dare.  He  is  a  bravo  and  a  coward.  Life  is  not  so 
dear  to  me  that  I  would  buy  it  with  my  sister's 
honor." 

The  Panglima  did  not  move.  His  hand  tightened 
on  the  handle  of  his  kris. 

"Dare?"  he  laughed,  "you  shall  see,  but  not  un 
til  I  have  had  my  answer.  Come,  girl,"  he  went 
on.  "Is  it  yes,  or  your  brother's  life?"  and  his 
eyes  gleamed  with  hatred  and  murder. 

Slowly  he  raised  his  arm.  The  light  fell  upon 
the  blue-black  blade  of  the  kris.  He  drew  close  up 
to  the  man  until  the  knife's  keen  point  touched  his 
neck. 

The  girl  watched  his  passion-distorted  face  with 
a  strange,  bewildered  fascination.  She  could  not 
speak.  A  weird  hypnotic  influence  stole  over  her. 
Beach  felt  it  and  rubbed  his  eyes.  The  tragedy 
before  him  did  not  seem  real.  It  was  like  some 
powerful  play. 

The  Pangiima  pressed  the  point  of  the  kris  into 
the  yielding  flesh,  and  a  tiny  rivulet  of  blood  ran 
down  the  victim's  bared  throat. 

With  a  cry  of  fright  the  girl  threw  herself  at  the 
Malay's  feet. 

"  Omar,  Omar,  I  will.     O,  I  —  " 

"Will — not!"  came  in  low,  distinct  tones. 

"  Omar,  do  not  listen.     I  will  — 

"  I  tell  you  he  dare  not  strike.  He  knows  the 
power  of  the  British  arm  ? " 


QO  THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA. 

The  Doctor,  in  his  absorption,  had  worked  close 
up  under  the  window,  and  lay  partially  in  the  light, 
with  his  hands  on  the  wooden  bars. 

"Dare  not,  again  !  "  hissed  the  Chief.  "  I  am  not 
through  with  you  yet,  or  I  would  strike  you  down 
like  a  dog." 

"  If  you  are  in  the  habit  of  murdering  British 
subjects,  possibly  you  have  no  further  use  for  me," 
,  sneered  Mcllvaine,  his  lips  twitching  with  sup 
pressed  emotion.  "  I  say  you  are  a  sneak,  a  coward, 
and  a  renegade, —  lashing  yourself  into  a  fury  to 
frighten  a  half-crazed  girl  and  amuse  two  bound 
men.  I  challenge  you  to  strike  !  " 

The  Panglima  trembled. 

"Ha!  Ha!  the  braggart.  Must  I  spit  in  his 
face ! " 

With  a  yell  of  fury  the  Chief  sprang  forward. 
His  kris  flashed  in  the  lamplight,  the  jewels  in  its 
handle  sent  out  a  momentary  circle  of  light,  the 
double-edged  blade  sank  into  the  heart  of  the  in 
trepid  man,  and  he  fell  without  a  groan. 

In  his  excitement  the  Doctor  forgot  his  caution, 
and  wrenched  at  the  bars  of  the  window  with  a 
strength  born  of  the  scene  before  him,  and  as  the 
murderer  leaned  forward  to  draw  the  kris  from  the 
dying  man,  one  of  the  bars  and  then  another 
dropped  off  into  his  hands. 

Even  in  his  mad  haste  he  noticed  that  they  had 
been  cut  nearly  through  with  a  small  knife,  and 
that  a  cloth  had  been  wound  cunningly  about  the 
notches. 

The  fearless  old  man  had  his  hand  on  the  Chiefs 
throat,  and  had  thrown  him  on  his  back  almost  be- 


THE    PANGLIMA    MUDA.  QI 

fore  Beach  realized  that  his  way  was  free  into  the 
room. 

"  O,  you(^lack  scoundrel !     You  liar,  you  murder-   | 
er,  you  /Apache  f"  thundered  the  Doctor,  his  rageL 
almost  browning  his  voice.     "  So  you  thought  you  f 
were  master  out  here  in  the  jungle,  did  you  ?  "  And 
the  relentless  hand  closed  tighter  and  tighter  on 
the  Panglima's  throat. 

The  two  guards,  who  for  the  moment  had  stood 
motionless  with  amazement,  sprang  with  a  yell  to 
the  rescue  of  their  Chief. 

As  the  foremost  raised  his  hand  to  strike,  Wah- 
pering  glided  from  behind  the  silken  hanging  of  the 
doorway  and  drove  his  kris  beneath  the  man's  up 
lifted  arm.  At  the  same  instant  Beach  bounded 
through  the  window  across  the  room,  and  struck 
the  remaining  guard  full  in  the  face  with  his  power 
ful  fist. 

Wahpering  snatched  his  bloody  knife  from  the 
body  of  his  victim,  and  raised  it  a  second  time  with 
a  look  of  cruel  satisfaction  on  his  scarred  and  with 
ered  face. 

"No  more  rattan  Wahpering.     Allah  is  good  !" 

The  Panglima  saw  the  look  on  the  headman's 
distorted  features,  and  heard  his  words.  He  knew 
that  he  had  nothing  to  expect  but  death,  and  for 
the  first  time  he  struggled  to  release  the  Doctor's 
grip  on  his  throat. 

Wahpering  waited  calmly  until  he  had  exhausted 
himself,  taking  a  grim  delight  in  the  fruitless  battle. 

"  Hold  quiet  there,  my  black  beauty  ! "  ejaculated       V 
the  Doctor,  oblivious  to  all  else  save  the  writhings 
of  the  prostrate  man. 


Q2  THE    PANGLIMA    MUDA. 

"  Keep  quiet,  now.  Anyone  would  think  you  saw 
your  ghost,"  and  the  Doctor  smiled  as  he  glanced 
in  the  direction  of  Beach,  who  was  kneeling  by  the 
side  of  the  fainting  girl. 

"Don't  let  such  little  gallantries  worry  you." 

The  Chief  lay  perfectly  still,  watching  Wahper- 
ing  through  half-closed  lids. 

Suddenly,  like  a  flash,  the  kris  descended.  The 
Panglima  was  ready  for  the  blow.  The  Doctor  felt 
the  muscles  under  him  harden  for  an  instant,  then 
expand  like  a  mass  of  rubber,  and  they  had  both 
changed  positions  by  a  foot. 

The  kris  made  a  flesh  wound  in  the  Panglima's 
arm. 

"  Hold  on  there  !  "  shouted  the  Doctor  in  amaze 
ment. 

"Catch  him,  Beach.  Hold  on,  I  say.  We  want 
this  fellow  for  a  hostage.  Ye  gods,  this  is  murder !  " 

Wahpering  scowled,  lowered  the  point  of  his 
weapon,  and  turned  to  the  girl's  brother,  who  had 
been  a  passive  spectator  of  all  that  had  taken  place, 
and  cut  his  bonds. 

"Good,  Tuan  Doctor.  Keep  him  for  hostage. 
Bind  tight, —  he  worse  than  snake.  Wahpering  kill 
another  time.  Lekas,  hurry,  boat  ready." 

"Not  while  I  am  around,"  growled  the  Doctor, 
as  he  lifted  the  Panglima  to  his  shoulder.  "  This 
is  no  French  Revolution.  Come  on." 

Mead  took  the  unconscious  form  of  his  sister  in 
his  arms  and  followed. 

Kneeling  beside  Mcllvaine,  Beach  placed  his 
hand  on  his  heart. 

"  Dead  !  "  he  sighed.    "  The  fire  won't  hurt  him," 


THE   PANGLIMA    MUDA.  95 

And  then  raising  the  massive  table  lamp  above  his 
head,  he  threw  it  with  all  his  strength  into  a  mass 
of  draperies  and  cushions. 

In  an  instant  the  room  was  a  furnace  of  flames. 

"  Come  on!"  shouted  the  Doctor  from  the  veran 
da.  "Now  is  the  time!" 

The  darkness  about  the  burning  bungalow  was 
full  of  flying  forms. 

Wahpering's  brother  had  directed  the  guard  to 
the  rear  with  loud  shouts  of  "Apt,  Apt, —  fire,  fire! 
The  Panglima, — the  Panglima!" 

The  old  Punghulo  stood  at  the  bottom  of  the  lad 
der,  and  guarded  the  little  party  from  any  chance 
kris  strokes. 

Sometimes  running,  sometimes  creeping,  once 
fighting  their  way  silently  in  the  darkness  with 
their  fists,  they  gained  the  jungle  path  just  as  the 
doomed  bungalow  burst  out  in  a  dozen  different 
places,  and  lit  up  the  little  plantation  with  the 
brightness  of  day. 

As  they  paused  to  get  their  breath  and  re-arrange 
their  burdens,  they  could  see  the  panic-stricken 
natives  swarming  up  and  down  the  ladder  of  the 
burning  house,  searching  for  their  Chief. 

The  great  banyan  tree  was  wrapped  in  a  maze  of 
flames,  that  wound  and  twisted  about  its  branches 
and  roots,  and  lighted  up  its  varnished  leaves.  The 
traveler's  palms  cast  mammoth  fanlike  shadows  on 
the  scorched  greensward,  while  the  brilliant  color 
of  the  flamboyants  and  crotons  seemed  to  vie  with 
the  flames  in  the  intensity  of  their  shading.  Bands 
of  monkeys,  awakened  by  the  light  and  heat,  min 
gled  their  cries  with  the  shrill  screams  of  the  wo 
men  in  the  zenana  close  by. 


Q6  THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA. 

Then  for  an  instant  all  sounds  were  drowned  in 
the  deep,  prolonged  roar  from  the  prison  of  the 
black  lions  back  of  the  zenana. 

"  Looks  kinder  like  a  blamed  shame,  Commis 
sioner,"  said  the  Doctor,  gazing  at  the  rapidly 
crumbling  building. 

"It's  only  a  detail,"  laughed  Beach,  his  spirits 
rising  as  the  danger  increased.  "  Forward  march, 
and  remember  the  fate  of  Lot's  wife  !  " 


THE  PANGLIMA   MUDA.  97 


X. 

THE  brilliancy  of  the  fire  was  soon  lost  as  they 
penetrated  into  the  jungle.  The  massive  trees 
excluded  all  light,  and  only  from  time  to  time  a 
breath  of  wind  brought  them  the  heavy,  smoky 
odors  of  the  conflagration. 

For  an  hour  they  stumbled  and  felt  their  way 
along  the  narrow  path.  The  thorny  rattans  caught 
their  clothes  and  tore  their  hands  and  faces. 

Gladys  had  regained  consciousness,  and  was  sob 
bing  softly  on  her  brother's  shoulder.  The  Doctor 
tripped  heavily  twice  and  fell,  each  time  refusing 
doggedly  Beach's  offer  to  relieve  him  of  his  burden. 

"  Reckon  I  can  stand  it  if  he  can,"  growled  the 
old  man,  as  he  tightened  his  hold  on  the  prisoner's 
waist. 

The  road  became  rougher,  as  they  proceeded,  and 
their  progress  slower.  Wahpering  paused,  and  took 
from  the  folds  of  his  sarong  a  bit  of  candle  and  a  box 
of  matches. 

"Lekas!"  (Hurry,)  he  grunted  laconically,  and 
strode  on  in  advance. 

Beach  grasped  the  Panglima,  in  spite  of  the  Doc 
tor's  struggles,  and  followed  rapidly  in  their  foot 
steps. 

By  the  aid  of  the  flickering  light  they  were  able 
to  cover  the  distance  between  them  and  the  river 
with  comparative  ease. 

As  they  reached  the  bank,  the  old  headman 
raised  his  hand. 


98  THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA. 

" Nanti"  (Wait,)  and  then,  extinguishing  the 
light  he  dove  into  the  black  labyrinth  of  mangrove 
roots.  • 

Suddenly  Beach  felt  the  Panglima  move,  and 
then  before  he  could  collect  himself,  the  Chief  had 
wrenched  away  one  of  his  hands  and  had  fastened 
it  on  the  astonished  man's  throat. 

He  tried  to  cry  out  but  could  not  utter  a  sound. 

For  a  moment  the  pain  bewildered  him,  and  he 
felt  a  weakness  relax  his  muscles.  The  Panglima 
was  struggling  silently  to  release  his  other  hand. 
The  two  men  swayed  back  and  forth,  and  then 
Beach  raised  his  foe  in  his  powerful  arms  above  his 
head,  and  threw  him  with  all  his  strength  to  the 
ground  at  his  feet. 

At  the  same  instant  the  deep  baying  of  hounds 
fell  upon  his  ears,  and  the  dark  knife-like  outlines 
of  a  prau  glided  up  close  to  the  bank. 

He  groped  blindly  about  for  the  Panglima,  as  the 
others  crowded  into  the  boat.  The  baying  of  the 
hounds  became  more  distinct.  The  Doctor  called 
his  name,  and  he  heard  Gladys's  frightened  ques 
tions,  and  then,  just  as  a  flickering  light  became 
visible  between  the  great  boles  of  the  trees,  his 
hand  fell  upon  the  cold,  upturned  face  of  the  Malay. 

The  nearing  torches  aided  him  to  see  the  boat, 
and  with  a  desperate  lunge  he  dropped  the  sense 
less  form  into  the  Doctor's  upraised  arms. 

Gladys  put  out  her  hand  and  he  took  it,  and 
steadied  himself  over  the  bank.  The  pain  of  his 
lacerated  throat  had  become  intense,  and  he  could 
barely  mumble  his  thanks. 

Wahpering  sunk  his  paddle  savagely  in  the  water, 
and  the  prau  sprang  out  into  the  night. 


THE  TWO   MEN  SWAYED  BACK   AND  FORTH. 


THE    PANGLIMA    MUDA.  IOI 

"  The  dog  !  "  he  muttered.     "  Allah  is  good  !  " 

No  one  else  spoke ;  the  suddenness  of  the  at 
tack  and  the  nearness  of  their  pursuers  kept  back 
the  questions  that  arose  to  their  lips.  Only  the 
Doctor  growled  inarticulately  as  he  bent  his  back 
to  the  oar. 

The  prau  was  a  large  one,  designed  for  eight  oars 
men.  It  had  a  half  deck  in  its  stern,  covered  by  a 
cadjang;  or  palm-leaf  roof.  Wahpenng's  brother 
sat  in  the  stern,  and  used  his  paddle  first  on  one 
side  and  then  on  the  other,  steering  and  rowing  by 
turns.  The  Doctor,  Beach,  and  Mead,  each  took  a 
paddle  and  seconded  the  powerful  strokes  of  the 
Malay. 

It  meant  death  of  the  most  horrible  kind  to  be 
caught  between  the  narrow  banks  of  this  little  trib 
utary  of  the  Samantan. 

"We  must  make  the  river  before  daylight,  or  we 
shall  be  headed  off,"  said  Mead  quietly,  so  that 
his  sister  could  not  hear.  "I  should  not  wonder  if 
a  party  had  been  sent  across  country  to  head  us 
off  as  we  enter  the  Samantan.  It  is  their  only 
chance  unless  they  have  another  boat.  Still  they 
have  no  leader,  and  we  can  hope  for  the  best." 

The  barking  of  the  dogs  grew  fainter  and  fainter 
as  the  prau  glided  on  through  the  darkness,  under 
the  combined  efforts  of  the  men. 

It  took  all  the  Malay's  marvelous  skill  to  keep  it 
off  the  roots  and  tree  trunks  that  extended  down  in 
to  the  water  on  either  side.  Once  they  were  saved 
from  running  into  the  bank  by  a  hair's  breadth, 
and  once  they  struck  the  back  of  a  sleeping  croco 
dile  and  went  entirely  over  it. 


IO2  THE    PANGLIMA    MUDA. 

Beach  found  himself  placed  next  to  Gladys  Mead. 
Exhausted  with  the  events  of  the  night  she  had 
lain  down  on  the  half  deck,  with  the  boat-blanket 
under  her  head.  In  spite  of  his  sufferings  and  the 
danger  of  missing  a  single  stroke  of  his  paddle,  he 
could  not  resist  glancing  toward  her  from  time  to 
time. 

"  Are  you  quite  comfortable,  Miss  Mead  ?  "  he 
ventured. 

"Almost,"  she  answered.  "I  am  so  glad  you 
spoke,  Mr.  Beach."  Beach  blushed  with  pleasure 
at  the  sound  of  his  name  on  her  lips.  "  I  have  been 
wanting  to  ask  you  to  put  this  wet  handkerchief 
about  your  neck.  I  know  it  must  pain  you  dread 
fully, —  a  drop  of  blood  fell  on  my  hand  as  you  got 
in." 

Beach  wrapped  the  small  damp  handkerchief 
about  his  throat  as  he  stammered  his  thanks.  He 
was  silent  for  a  moment,  and  then  she  asked  tim 
idly:— 

"What  became  of  Mr.  Mcllvaine's  body?  You 
carried  it  out  of  the  fire,  did  n't  you  ? " 

Her  voice  quivered  as  she  finished,  and  the  "  did 
n't  you  ? "  was  so  plaintive  that  Beach  did  not  hes 
itate  for  an  instant. 

"Yes." 

"O,  I  am  so  thankful,  she  went  on.  "He  was 
always  so  good  and  kind  to  me  at  the  Residency, 
— and — then — did  he  not  give  his  life  to  save  my 
brother  ? " 

While  Beach  was  forming  some  reply  that  would 
turn  her  thoughts  from  the  horrible  scene,  she  con 
tinued  as  though  talking  to  herself :  — 


THE   PANGLIMA    MUDA.  IO3 

"  I  thought  Omar  was  about  to  strike  my  brother, 
when  he  drew  the  blow  to  himself  by  some  taunt. 
O,  I  am  glad  he  was  not  left  to  burn.  It  was  so 
kind  of  you  !  " 

Beach  turned  his  face  away,  for  fear  that  even  in 
the  darkness  she  would  see  the  telltale  blush  on  his 
face. 

He  would  have  given  his  hand  at  that  moment  if 
he  could  have  truthfully  assured  the  girl  that  the 
body  of  the  murdered  man  was  safe  out  of  the 
flames,  but  as  it  was,  he  inwardly  resolved  to  stick 
to  his  meritorious  lie,  no  matter  what  turned  up. 
He  strove  to  change  the  subject,  and  narrated  their 
adventures  from  the  moment  they  left  Singapore 
until  they  arrived  at  Sandringham.  The  others 
listened  as  they  talked,  and  it  helped  to  make 
them  forget  their  danger,  and  to  lighten  the  hard 
labor  at  the  paddles. 

"Miss  Mead,"  said  Beach,  so  low  that  the  others 
could  not  hear,  "  I  want  to  return  a  bit  of  your  prop- 
perty  that  I  picked  up  under  the  piano  the  first 
night  at  Sandringham." 

"  What  is  it  ? "  she  asked  curiously. 

"  Your  handkerchief,"  he  replied  tragically. 

Gladys  laughed  outright.  "  You  may  keep  it  un 
til  we  are  in  safety  ;  then  I  will  ask  you  for  it.  By 
its  presence  you  become  my  cavalier." 

The  young  man  put  it  back  tenderly  in  his  pock 
et  with  the  mental  inquiry,  "Wonder  if  she  thinks 
me  an  ass  ?  " 

Day  was  just  breaking  as  they  came  to  where  the 
jungle  became  less  dense,  and  warned  them  that 
they  were  approaching  the  mouth  of  the  little 


IO4  THE    PANGLIMA    MUDA. 

stream.  Not  a  sound  save  the  regular  splash  of 
their  own  paddles  had  broken  the  stillness  since 
they  had  left  the  baying  of  the  hounds  behind. 

Under  the  influence  of  the  girl's  bright  eyes 
Beach  laughed  at  the  thought  of  pursuit,  and  in  his 
own  mind  rather  hoped  that  he  would  have  a  chance 
to  prove  his  right  to  his  new  dignity.  His  high  spir 
its  became  infectious,  and  the  three  young  people 
chatted  and  joked  as  they  sped  along. 

Unobserved  by  them,  Wahpering  had  for  the  past 
half-hour  been  casting  quick,  searching  glances  over 
his  shoulder  in  the  direction  from  which  they  came ; 
from  time  to  time  he  bent  his  head  toward  the 
water,  as  though  listening  for  some  expected  sound. 

The  Doctor  had,  however,  noticed  his  actions 
with  momentarily  increasing  apprehension. 

"What  is  it,  Wahpering?"  he  asked  at  last. 

"War-prau,"  laconically  replied  the  Malay. 

The  Doctor  grasped  the  handle  of  his  paddle  with 
a  firmer  grip,  and  glanced  furtively  down  at  his 
Winchester.  They  were  within  a  hundred  yards  of 
the  river.  The  banks  of  the  stream  were  narrow 
ing  and  becoming  more  precipitous. 

Wahpering  raised  his  hand.  "  Slowly  !  If  enemy 
here,  they  fill  up  water." 

The  Doctor  and  Beach  laid  down  the  paddles  and 
took  up  their  rifles. 

Suddenly,  with  a  rapid  back-motion  of  his  pad 
dle,  Wahpering  stopped  the  prau,  and  snatched  his 
heavy  parang  from  his  sarong.  He  leaned  over  the 
side  of  the  boat,  and  struck  at  a  great  rubber  vine 
that  had  been  drawn  across  their  course. 

With  the  echo  of  the  first  blow  a  salvo  of  yells 


THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA.  IO5 

broke  out  from  the  jungle-covered  shores,  and  a 
musket  ball  grazed  the  head  of  the  old  Punghulo. 

The  Doctor  fired  into  the  center  of  the  smoke. 
A  scream  of  pain  followed  this  report. 

"  Up  with  the  Chief,  Mead  ! "  he  shouted,  and 
the  stalwart  Englishman  raised  the  Panglima  from 
the  bottom  of  the  boat,  and  held  him  aloft  between 
Wahpering  and  the  shore. 

The  rubber  tendon  snapped,  and  the  boat  went 
ahead  a  few  feet  and  struck  another. 

The  Malays  on  the  banks  kept  well  hidden  in  the 
dense  jungle,  but  from  time  to  time  a  spear  or  a 
musket  ball  would  fly  past  those  in  the  stern. 

Wahpering  ceased  his  work,  and  shouted  in  his 
native  tongue  :  — 

"  Sons  of  dogs,  strike  one  person  in  this  boat  and 
the  Panglima  Muda  dies.  I,  the  Punghulo  Wahper 
ing,  am  speaking." 

The  firing  ceased,  and  a  few  more  blows  with  the 
heavy  knife  severed  the  last  of  the  obstructions. 

"  Now,  boys,  all  together,"  shouted  the  Doctor, 
bending  his  short,  muscular  body  to  the  oar,  and 
the  prau  shot  out  into  the  open  waters  of  the  Sa- 
mantan.  "  Hip,  hip,  hurrah  ! "  went  on  the  old  man, 
waving  his  paddle  above  his  head.  "  If  they  get  us 
again  it  will  be  after  a  surprising  mortality  on  their 
side.  Let  her  go  !  " 


IO6  THE    PANGLIMA    MUDA. 


XI. 

GLADYS  leaned  back  on  her  cushions  with  a  sigh 
of  relief,  and  gazed  up  through  the  interlacing 
boughs  at  the  gradual  reddening  of  the  sky. 

Beach  stole  occasional  glances  at  her,  as  he  la 
bored  steadily  on  with  his  paddle.  He  had  never 
seen  her  in  broad  daylight  before,  and  he  noted 
with  quickened  pleasure  her  tall,  lithe  form,  her 
gracefully  poised  head,  and  slender  neck.  Her  mind 
was  filled  with  thoughts  that  gave  her  face  a  pen 
sive,  almost  sad,  look  ;  yet  there  were  lines  in  the 
corners  of  her  mouth  that  caused  him  to  wonder, 
strangely  enough,  if  she  would  not  be  as  firm  in 
friendship  as  she  had  been  in  war. 

She  raised  her  long  black  lashes  sleepily,  and 
looked  up  into  Beach's  face  with  a  smile.  The  col 
or,  which  her  month's  captivity  had  not  been  able 
to  conquer,  came  into  her  cheeks,  and  communi 
cated  itself  to  those  of  her  admirer.  Beach  was 
thinking  that  if  they  reached  Temerloh  they  would 
probably  have  to  give  up  their  expedition  into  the 
interior  for  the  present,  and  that  if  Mead  and  his 
sister  went  on  to  Singapore  for  safety,  it  might  be 
just  as  well  for  him  to  accompany  them  ;  then  he 
checked  himself  in  surprise  at  the  ease  with  which 
his  conscience  acquitted  him  of  the  trust  his  gov 
ernment  had  placed  in  him.  At  any  rate,  he  excused 
himself  lamely  ;  he  did  not  know  when  he  had  seen 
a  prettier  girl  ;  he  would  really  like  to  know  her 
better, —  and  then  he  caught  her  eye  again. 


THE   PANGLIMA    MUDA.  IO7 

"  Did  you  get  a  nap  ?•"  he  asked  hurriedly. 

"  I  think  so.  Does  it  not  seem  selfish  —  my  lying 
here  asleep,  while  you  are  working  hour  after  hour  ? 
I  wonder  if  I  could  not  row,  while  you  rested  ?  I 
once  could  handle  a  boat  rather  well.  May  I  try?" 

She  looked  so  charming  in  her  desire  to  aid,  that 
Beach,  forgetting  everything  but  his  wish  to  humor 
her,  handed  her  the  paddle. 

"  Is  the  Tuan  sick,"  growled  Wahpering  from  the 
bow,  "that  he  gives  his  work  to  women  ?  The  Pang- 
lima  prau  with  ten  oars  come  in  one  half  hour.  We 
get  to  Cave  Rocks  first,  there  can  fight  while  Tuan 
sleep." 

With  a  muttered  imprecation  at  the  Malay's  im 
pertinence,  Beach  took  the  paddle  and  drove  it 
into  the  water  with  renewed  vigor,  although  his 
muscles  ached  and  his  limbs  were  stiff  with  the  un 
wonted  toil. 

Suddenly  the  Malay  in  the  stern  stopped  and 
raised  his  paddle  above  his  head.  All  ceased  and 
listened,  as  the  boat  glided  swiftly  on  down  the 
stream. 

In  a  moment  they  could  make  out  distinctly  what 
Wahpering' s  trained  ear  had  heard  for  some  time, 
the  regular  plash  of  paddles,  and  the  accompanying 
squeak  of  rattan  oarlocks. 

The  Panglima  heard  it  too,  and  a  grim  smile  of  vic 
tory  flushed  his  swarthy  features.  Wahpering  saw 
the  look  and  understood  it,  and  touched  the  handle 
of  his  kris  significantly. 

"  No  can  reach  Cave  Rocks.  Bind  Panglima  — 
mouth  and  hands.  Take  out  oars, —  so  no  make 
sound.  Lie  down  all  in  bottom  boat.  No  speak, — 


IO8  THE    PANGLIMA    MUDA. 

prau  go  by.    Now,  pergi, —  go, —  under  tamfruso.  Lc- 
kas!" 

The  maneuver  was  easily  made.  The  top  of  a 
giant  jungle  tree  had  fallen  over  the  river,  resting 
on  the  stilt-like  platform  of  mangrove  roots.  Vines 
and  ferns  had  entwined  themselves  about  its  trunk 
and  branches,  until  the  tree  afforded  an  almost 
impenetrable  screen  from  without.  The  boat  was 
worked  noiselessly  to  the  darkest  recess  of  the 
leafy  alcove,  and  the  branches  and  vines  were  care 
fully  arranged  over  the  entrance. 

The  noise  of  paddles  became  more  distinct,  min 
gled  with  a  low  buzz  of  talk.  Then  one  moment  of 
breathless  suspense,  and  the  swift  war  prau  swept 
into  view. 

Gladys  closed  her  eyes  with  an  instinctive  shud 
der,  and  reached  out  for  her  brother's  hand. 

Twice  the  prau  paused  before  a  more  than  ordi 
narily  dense  mass  of  overhanging  foliage,  while  a 
stalwart  Malay  in  the  bow  thrust  a  long  pole  into 
its  midst.  Wahpering  started  uneasily,  and  spoke 
excitedly  in  his  native  tongue  to  his  brother,  who 
nodded  his  head  and  handed  him  the  long  steering 
oar. 

"We're  in  for  it,  if  they  try  that  game  on  us," 
whispered  the  Doctor.  "  However,  I  would  not 
mind  spitting  that  ugly  Mamat.  I  owe  him  one  for 
laughing  while  I  chased  those  cursed  butterflies  in 
the  sun." 

Wahpering  watched  every  movement  of  the  ene 
my's  boat  with  a  tiger-like  intentness,  as  it  came 
swiftly  abreast  their  hiding  place.  He  could  almost 
have  touched  the  Malay  in  its  bow,  as  he  raised  his 


THE    PANGLIMA    MUDA.  IOQ 

pole  and  with  a  heavy  lunge  thrust  it  through  the 
mass  of  foliage.  It  was  aimed  straight  for  the  bot 
tom  of  the  hidden  boat,  and  would  have  struck 
Beach  full  in  the  breast.  Quick  as  lightning  the  old 
headman  raised  the  long  paddle  and  turned  it  from 
its  course.  Once  more  it  broke  through  the  fragile 
screen,  and  once  more  Wahpering  rendered  its  aim 
purposeless.  The  Malay  -oarsmen  grunted  impa-.x 
tiently  and  clipped  their  paddles  in  the  water,  but 
the  pole-man  motioned  them  to  hold. 

The  prau  had  drifted  a  few  feet  down  the  stream. 
The  Doctor,  in  his  eagerness  to  see  what  was  tak 
ing  place,  raised  himself  on  his  elbow  just  as  the 
pole  came  crashing  through  for  the  third  time.  The 
sensitive  craft  responded  to  his  weight  and  Wah 
pering  lost  his  balance.  The  pole  struck  the  long 
wooden  prow  of  the  boat  with  a  dull,  heavy  thud. 
With  a  look  of  disgust  and  contempt,  Wahpering 
commenced  calmly  to  strip  off  everything  but  his 
sarong  and  kris.  His  brother  did  the  same. 

The  Panglima's  eyes  flashed  as  he  watched  these 
preparations  for  the  death  struggle.  He  did  not 
doubt  for  a  moment  what  the  end  of  the  contest 
would  be  between  his  fifteen  men,  the  flower  of  his 
own  picked  body-guard,  and  his  poorly  armed  cap 
tors  :  his  mind  was  rather  bent  on  some  plan  of 
escape  for  himself  from  the  fury  of  the  old  Pung- 
hulo.  He  strained  quietly  at  his  bonds,  as  he  heard 
Mamat,  the  chief  of  his  guard,  give  the  orders  to 
bring  the  prau  back  to  the  point  from  which  the 
noise  came. 

"It  was  a  hollow  log,"  ventured  one  of  his  men. 

"  Allah  knows,"  Mamat  answered. 


110  THE   PANGLIMA    MUDA. 

Wahpering  moved  from  the  bow  to  the  side  of 
the  Panglima.  The  Chief  closed  his  eyes  and  ceased 
his  hopeless  struggle. 

Again  and  again  the  poleman  essayed  to  raise 
the  heavy  mass  of  limbs  and  vines  that  protected 
the  hidden  boat.  Finally,  with  a  growl  of  rage,  he 
snatched  up  a  steel-headed  lance,  and  threw  it  with 
all  his  might  through  the  opening  he  had  made.  It 
glanced  along  the  beak  of  the  prow  and  disappeared 
into  the  darkness  of  the  lagoon. 

All  was  still  for  an  instant,  the  pursuers  listening 
for  the  result  of  the  throw,  the  pursued  undeter 
mined  whether  to  fight  or  wait  until  discovered. 
Then  the  silence  was  broken  by  a  fierce,  hoarse  bel 
low  of  mingled  rage  and  pain. 

The  oarsmen  in  the  prau  lifted  their  boat  almost 
out  of  the  water  in  their  mad  haste  to  get  into  mid 
stream. 

A  monster  sladang  rose  from  out  of  the  mud  al 
most  under  the  neck  of  the  captive  boat,  and  dashed 
out  into  the  current.  In  his  massive  shoulder  stuck 
the  blade  of  the  lance.  His  savage,  blood-shot  eyes 
were  rolling  with  pain,  and  his  powerful  horns  tore 
away  the  limbs  and  vines  as  though  they  were 
threads. 

The  war-prau  pulled  swiftly  down  the  stream  to 
give  full  room  to  the  great  horns.  The  bull  floun 
dered  on  beyond  his  depth,  pounding  the  water 
into  a  creamy  foam,  then  with  an  angry  snort  he 
shook  his  head  menacingly  at  the  departing  boat 
and  turned  back  to  the  shore. 

"  Saved  by  a  miracle !  "  whispered  Gladys,  as  she 
watched  the  black  form  of  their  savage  deliverer 


THREW    IT    WITH    ALL    HIS    MIGHT. 


TJHIVER3IT7 


THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA.  113 

crush  through  his  feeding  ground  of  lily  pads  and 
go  bellowing  up  the  bank. 

"  Yes,  it  took  a  miracle  to  make  up  for  my  awk 
wardness,"  said  the  Doctor  ruefully.  "  What  next, 
Wahpering  ? " 

"  MacJian-an,  —  eating,"  answered  the  Malay, 
opening  a  bag  of  provisions. 

"  Not  such  a  bad  idea.  I  actually  feel  faint.  Six 
teen  hours  of  hard  work  without  a  mouthful !  It 
reminds  me  of  a  march  I  made  with  Grant  down 
in—" 

"You  will  feel  fainter,  Doctor,  after  a  glance  at 
the  contents  of  our  larder,"  broke  in  Beach,  hold 
ing  open  the  bag. 

"  What  shall  it  be,  Miss  Mead, —  a  prawn-ball  or  a 
duck's  egg, —  a  fried  fish  or  a  plantain  leaf  of  curry, 
or  possibly  a  stick  of  sugar  cane  ? " 

Gladys  reached  down  into  the  conglomerate  mass 
of  food  and  fruits,  and  picked  out  some  biscuits 
and  an  orange.  Turning  to  the  old  headman  first 
she  smiled  sweetly  with  a — "  Trima  kasi,  I  thank 
you,  Punghulo."  Then  looking  up  reprovingly  into 
Beach's  handsome  face  she  said,  "I  am  ashamed  of 
you,  sir,  for  making  sport  of  Wahpering's  thought- 
fulness.  Remember,  such  actions  are  unbecoming 
a  cavalier." 

"I  apologize,"  replied  the  young  man,  bowing 
low;  "and  as  a  proof  of  my  contrition  I  eat  this 
prawn-ball,  odor  and  all." 

"  O,  don't  worry  about  Wahpering's  feelings," 
interposed  the  Doctor.  "  He's  after  something  else 
than  compliments." 

Gladys  looked  sadly  down  at  the  captive  and 
shuddered. 


114  THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA. 

Wahpering  backed  the  boat  carefully  from  its 
hiding-place,  and  headed  it  down  the  stream. 

"Jaga,  biak  biak,—  carefully,"  he  cautioned. 
"  We  make  Cave  Rocks  before  they  turn  back  — 
good ;  if  no  make  Cave  Rocks,  Tuan  Doctor  better 
pray  Allah  for  'nother  sladang  !  " 

The  Doctor  dropped  his  head  to  hide  the  angry 
flush  that  mounted  to  his  temples  at  the  old  head 
man's  scornful  rebuff,  and  plied  his  paddle  with  a 
fierce  vigor. 

The  air  was  becoming  oppressive.  The  cicadas 
in  the  trees  above  had  ceased  their  shrill  reiterative 
songs,  and  the  sun  poured  down  its  full  heat  into 
the  jungle-closed  river. 

"  How  much  farther,  Wahpering  ?  "  asked  Beach, 
wiping  the  perspiration  from  his  forehead. 

The  Malay  raised  his  paddle,  and  pointed  straight 
ahead  and  high  up  among  the  trees. 

All  followed  his  motion.  The  trees  seemed  to 
be  set  against  a  solid  black  background. 

"  Looks  like  a  rain  cloud  or  the  wall  of  a  canon." 
"  Cave  Rocks,"  answered    the  Malay.     "  Plenty 
safety  there.     Sakies   give  us   help.     Lekas,  hear 
paddle ! " 

The  men  threw  all  caution  aside,  as  the  vast  pile 
of  volcanic  rocks  loomed  up  before  them,  and  sent 
the  boat  bounding  through  the  water  with  a  re 
doubled  speed.  The  river,  which  before  had  wound 
and  twisted  through  the  forest  like  the  track  of  a 
gigantic  snake,  now  stretched  out  in  a  perfectly 
straight  line  for  more  than  a  mile.  Directly  in  the 
middle  of  this  watery  race-course  loomed  the  honey 
combed  mass. 


THE    PANGLIMA    MUDA.  1 15 

As  their  keel  grounded  on  the  shelving  beach  at 
its  foot,  the  woods  rang  with  a  fierce,  exultant  yell, 
and  the  war  prau  swept  into  sight  around  a  bend. 

u  Cheer  away,  my  hearties,"  shouted  Beach,  wav 
ing  his  helmet  gayly  above  his  head.  "  We  've  got 
the  laugh  on  you  this  time."  And  not  waiting  for 
his  companions,  he  threw  his  arm  about  the  girl's 
supple  waist,  and  in  a  moment  they  were  twenty 
feet  above,  standing  in  the  mouth  of  one  of  the 
many  caves  that  indented  the  wall. 

Wahpering  followed  with  the  provisions  and 
arms.  The  Doctor  was  the  last  to  leave  the  boat. 
The  hostile  prau  was  advancing  more  rapidly  than 
he  realized. 

He  raised  the  Panglima  slowly,  and  walked  care 
fully  to  the  bow,  where  Mead  was  waiting  to  help 
him  land.  But  the  boat,  released  of  its  freight,  slid 
softly  off  the  shaly  beach,  and  was  being  gradually 
carried  down  the  stream  in  the  direction  of  the  rap 
idly  gaining  prau. 

"Drop  him  and  jump,  Doctor!"  shouted  Mead, 
making  frantic  efforts  to  reach  its  side. 

"Jump,  for  heaven's  sake,"  he  yelled  again,  see 
ing  him  hesitate. 

The  Doctor  started  to  put  down  the  Chief  and 
take  up  a  paddle,  but  seeing  the  advancing  prau  not 
a  dozen  rods  away,  he  raised  the  Panglima  above 
his  head,  and  threw  him  with  all  his  strength  into 
the  bottom  of  the  boat,  and  sprang  for  the  shore. 

The  boat  responded  to  the  impetus,  and  shot 
from  under  him  into  midstream. 

"All  right,"  he  gasped,  as  he  emerged  from  the 
water.  "  I  think  that  drop  rather  surprised  him, 


Il6  THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA. 

hey ! "  And  grasping  Mead's  hand,  they  sprang  up 
the  rocks. 

Wahpering  had  watched  the  escape  of  the  Pang- 
lima  in  speechless  amazement.  His  drawn  kris  was 
in  his  hand  ready  to  stab  his  foe,  and  throw  his 
body  down  among  his  followers  the  instant  they 
landed  on  the  beach  ;  for  he  was  no  longer  needed 
as  a  hostage.  He  had  faced  death  and  betrayed  his 
nation  for  this  moment,  and  while  the  sweets  of 
satisfied  revenge  were  still  in  his  mouth,  he  saw 
them  snatched  from  him,  and  he  powerless  to  pre 
vent. 

The  ping  of  a  musket-ball  close  to  his  head 
brought  him  to  his  senses,  and  with  a  howl  of  baf 
fled  rage  he  raised  a  huge  bowlder  above  his  head, 
and  hurled  it  with  an  almost  superhuman  strength 
at  the  receding  boat.  It  struck  the  half  deck  and 
split  it  into  a  hundred  fragments.  Again  he  raised 
a  stone,  regardless  of  the  bullets  that  began  to  chip 
the  rocks  about  him,  and  hurled  it  vainly  at  his 
enemy. 

A  mocking  peal  of  laughter  was  his  only  answer. 

"  O,  the  fools,  the  dogs  !  Why  you  no  throw  him 
in  river  ? "  he  hissed,  turning  fiercely  on  the  Doc 
tor,  who  was  pushing  the  cartridges  into  the  mag 
azine  of  his  express. 

"Do  I  look  like  a  murderer?"  snapped  the  old 
man.  "  Come  in  out  of  the  wet." 

The  Punghulo  fell  moodily  back,  muttering  in  his 
native  tongue. 

"  He  is  calling  you  anything  but  a  gentleman," 
laughed  Mead.  "  This  is  your  second  offense  to 
day." 


HE    HURLED   IT    AT   THE    RECEDING    BOAT. 


THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA.  IIQ 

The  Doctor  shrugged  his  shoulders,  and  poked 
his  head  over  the  edge  of  the  precipice. 

"There  he  is  in  the  arms  of  his  family.  Now  I 
suppose  we  must  look  out  for  fun.  Hello  there, 
Wahpering,  don't  sulk, —  what  next  ?" 

"If  shoot  Panglima, —  rest  run  away." 

"  Possibly,  old  fellow,  but  I  had  rather  try  run 
ning  myself,  first." 

Wahpering  saw  that  he  must  forego  his  revenge, 
and  look  out  for  his  own  safety.  Already  the  Ma 
lays,  urged  on  by  the  Panglima,  were  beginning  to 
scale  the  cliff.  Turning  scornfully  to  Beach,  he 
said  :  — 

"Take  woman  and  the  little  Tuan  Doctor  and 
follow  my  brother."  Glancing  at  Mead,  he  finished, 
"  Stay,  if  no  afraid." 

Then,  prying  off  a  mass  of  rock,  he  sent  it  down 
among  the  besiegers.  He  smiled  grimly,  as  he  list 
ened  to  the  cries  of  pain  that  followed  the  crash. 

"  Give  me  rifle." 

Mead  handed  him  the  gun.  He  crawled  carefully 
to  the  edge  of  the  canon,  looked  down  on  the  scat 
tered  warriors,  and  fired  twice.  Not  waiting  to  see 
the  effect  of  his  shots,  he  said :  — 

"Come.  They  give  us  plenty  time,  now.  No  like 
medicine." 


I2O  THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA. 


XII. 

THE  passage  which  they  were  following  led  them 
back  into  the  heart  of  the  mountain  and  upward.  It 
was  crossed  by  others  at  right  angles,  and  twice 
they  came  upon  rooms  of  varying  size.  A  softly 
diffused  light  filtered  down  through  the  many  fis* 
sures  and  cracks  of  the  sides  and  roof,  making 
torches  unnecessary.  The  reverberations  of  the 
rifle  shots  sounded  muffled  and  far  away  to  the  hur 
rying  fugitives. 

The  gloom,  the  strangeness  of  the  place,  and  their 
ignorance  of  everything  about  them,  made  speech 
seem  out  of  place,  and  backward  glances  foolish. 

They  could  not  exult  at  their  escape,  with  only  a 
few  hundred  yards  separating  them  from  the  Pang- 
lima,  and  so  they  hurried  along  the  narrow,  wind 
ing  passage,  without  question  or  comment. 

Gladys  clutched  Beach's  arm  convulsively,  as  the 
report  of  Wahpering's  rifle  reached  her  ears.  He 
knew  that  she  was  thinking  of  her  brother,  and  did 
not  try  to  comfort  her. 

The  passage  grew  narrower  and  steeper,  and  they 
turned  off  into  a  lateral  one,  that  seemed  to  termi 
nate  in  a  lofty  chamber. 

The  guide  raised  his  hand,  and  said  in  Malay, — 

"  Nanti, —  wait,—  Wahpering." 

Gladys  sank  down  on  a  great  square  block  of  red 
sandstone,  and  leaned  her  head  against  the  rugged 
wall. 

Beach  stood  over  her. 


THE   PANGLIMA    MUDA.  121 

"  Can  I  do  anything,  Miss  Mead  ? "  he  said,  his 
voice  filled  with  a  genuine  sympathy. 

"  I  am  only  tired,  and  anxious  about  Tom.  Do 
you  hear  footsteps  ?  " 

Beach  sprang  to  the  mouth  of  the  passage  to  list 
en,  as  Mead  and  Wahpering  rushed  through. 

The  old  headman  only  paused  to  lift  the  rock  on 
which  the  girl  had  been  seated,  and  take  candles 
from  under  it.  Then  he  placed  his  shoulder  against 
a  massive  bowlder  that  formed  an  angle  in  the  wall, 
and  pushed  with  all  his  strength.  It  turned  slowly, 
as  on  a  pivot. 

The  watching  fugitives  did  not  wait  for  the  word, 
but  one  after  another  crowded  into  the  dark  open 
ing.  The  cries  of  their  pursuers  came  faintly  to 
their  ears. 

Wahpering  closed  the  great  stone  after  him,  and 
laughed  quietly. 

"  No  more  Panglima  Muda.     Light  candles." 

For  half  an  hour  they  tramped  along  the  corridor. 
Their  spirits  had  undergone  a  wonderful  change. 
They  were  united,  and  free  from  all  danger.  The 
long,  grotesque  shadows  that  their  candles  cast  up 
the  sides  of  the  walls,  the  half-drunken  gyrations  of 
a  colony  of  bats,  the  Doctor's  attempt  at  a  tune,  all 
afforded  subjects  for  mirth, —  everything  acted  on 
their  spirits  like  champagne,  and  they  went  troop 
ing  along  the  passage,  laughing  and  joking  like  a 
party  of  school  children. 

"By  George,  is  n't  it  great !  "  shouted  Beach.  "  I 
feel  as  though  I  could  kiss  the  darkness  for  not  hav 
ing  a  kris  or  a  musket-ball  concealed  in  it." 

"  Better  not  try,"  broke  in  Mead.  "  You  might 
swallow  a  bat." 


122  THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA. 

Gladys  laughed  quietly  at  Beach's  enthusiasm. 

"  I  declare,  the  Doctor  has  broken  his  monocle  ! " 

The  old  man  stopped  as  though  he  had  been  shot, 
and  grasped  the  end  of  its  silken  cord  in  dismay. 

Wahpering  turned  to  see  what  was  the  matter, 
and  smiled  broadly  at  the  look  of  distress  on  the 
Doctor's  face. 

"Tuan  Doctor's  Allah,  no  more." 

"  Never  mind,  Doctor,"  laughed  Beach,  as  he 
saw  the  storm  gathering  in  his  companion's  face. 
"You  can  have  my  watch  crystal." 

Gradually  the  darkness  was  pervaded  by  pale 
shafts  of  light ;  then  their  candles  became  unneces 
sary.  Suddenly  they  turned  a  sharp  angle  of  the 
passage,  and  found  themselves  in  the  softly  subdued 
light  of  a  great  cavernous  room. 

The  perfume  of  the  jungle  came  gratefully  to  their 
nostrils,  and  long  pencils  of  sunshine  fell  from  the 
lofty  roof  down  on  the  dry  shaly  floor. 

The  Doctor  gave  a  long,  low  whistle  of  astonish 
ment,  as  he  sought  to  adjust  his  lost  eye-glass,  and 
went  forward  into  the  center  of  the  room. 

"Hello!  there  has  been  afire  here, —  bones, —  a 
kettle." 

"Sakies  !"  answered  Wahpering. 

"  Sakies,  hear  that,  Beach  !  We  are  now  in  the 
haunts  of  the  aborigines  —  the  rightful  owners  of 
this  rich  peninsula,  the  men  who  loaded  Solomon's 
ships  with  gold  dust,  apes,  and  peacocks,  of  whose 
origin  we  know  nothing.  For  aught  there  is  on 
record,  they  may  speak  pure  Sanskrit.  The  Expo 
sition  must  have  a  pair  ! " 

Beach  only  smiled,  and  rushed  forward  to  arrange 


THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA.  123 

a  tiger  skin,  which  Wahpering  had  taken  from  an 
crevice  in  the  wall,  into  a  seat  for  Gladys. 

"It  strikes  me,"  commented  the  Doctor,  with  a 
twinkle  in  his  eye,  "that  our  Commissioner's  inter 
est  in  the  great  World's  Fair  is  waning.  Problem, 

—  given  the  effect  to  find  the  cause.    Can  you  help 
us,  Miss  Mead?" 

Gladys  laughed  gayly,  and  turned  the  conversa 
tion,  to  Beach's  relief,  ere  the  Doctor  could  make 
himself  more  plain. 

"  We  ought  to  thank  the  Sakies,  Doctor,  instead 
of  laying  traps  to  kidnap  them.  They  are  in  reality 
our  hosts." 

"  Poh  !  Poh  !  In  the  interest  of  science,  my  dear 
young  lady,  in  the  interest  of  science  anything  is 
justifiable.  Why,  when  I  was  in  South  America  —  " 

"That 's  one  of  his  longest,"  broke  in  Beach  ir 
reverently.  "  Hello,  where  is  Wahpering  disappear 
ing  to  ? " 

The  Doctor  looked  up  in  time  to  see  the  Pung- 
hulo  walking  into  what  seemed  to  be  the  solid  face 
of  the  wall.  As  they  drew  near,  they  found  that  a 
dark  shadow  covered  like  a  screen  a  deep  notch, 
from  which  came  a  current  of  hot  out-door  air. 
Beach  felt  his  way  cautiously  into  the  darkness, 
and  through  the  rift  that  seemed  to  connect  them 
with  the  world,  until  he  found  himself  confronted 
by  a  mass  of  greenery.  Pushing  aside  the  vines  and 
ferns,  he  stepped  into  the  dim,  translucent  depths 
of  the  jungle. 

There  was  a  well-marked  path  just  below  them, 

—  a  path,  or  rather,  as  the  two  men  studied  it,  it 
seemed  to  be  a  series  of  mud  holes,  each  worse 
than  the  last. 


124  THE   PANGLIMA    MUDA. 

"Well,  I'll  be  shot!"  ejaculated  Beach,  as  he 
watched  Wahpering  coming  towards  them,  spring 
ing  from  the  edge  of  one  pit  to  another. 

The  Doctor  laughed  outright  at  the  young  man's 
amazement. 

"  It  is  an  elephant  path,  my  dear  Commissioner. 
You  might  dig  up  a  half  mile  of  it  and  take  it  back 
to  Chicago.  An  elephant  is  a  timid  beast,  and  be 
lieves  in  stepping  in  the  footsteps  of  his  forefathers, 
regardless  of  mud,  slime,  or  the  poisoned  sticks  that 
the  natives  drive  in  the  bottom  of  them." 

"  And  I  suppose  it  is  our  route  out,"  said  Beach, 
his  expression  of  amazement  changing  to  one  of 
dismay. 

"  One  can  readily  see  that  you  were  brought  up 
on  city  pavements,  and  know  nothing  of  the  de 
lights  of  our  country  roads  in  the  spring." 

The  little  party  had  gone  completely  through  the 
mass  of  rocks  that  was  a  small  mountain,  by  sub 
terranean  passages  known  only  to  Wahpering  and 
the  Sakies,  and  had  accomplished  a  feat  that  would 
be  almost  impossible  to  pursuers,  who  were  forced 
to  scale  it  and  cut  their  way  through  the  jungles. 
They  were  practically  as  safe  from  the  Panglima's 
men  as  though  they  were  on  the  Ocean  Esplanade 
in  Singapore. 

Wahpering  came  forward,  followed  by  a  sturdy 
little  copper-colored  man,  with  long  arms,  high 
cheek  bones,  and  straight  coarse  black  hair. 

The  Doctor  looked  at  him  curiously. 

"A  Sakie,"  W'ahpenng  explained.  "  Trong, 
Chief.  His  people  come  in  one  day  with  litter,  and 
carry  lady  along  elephant  path  to  river." 


THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA.  12$ 

The  little  Chief  touched  his  forehead  with  the 
back  of  his  hand,  and  looked  down  modestly.  He 
was  dressed  simply  in  a  coarse  bark  sarong,  and 
carried  a  blow-pipe. 

Beach  put  out  his  hand  to  take  the  weapon, 
whereupon  he  sprang  backward  with  the  agility  of 
an  animal,  and  pushed  a  diminutive  poisoned  dart 
into  the  mouth  end.  Wahpering  said  a  few  words 
in  his  tongue,  and  he  lowered  the  weapon  and  hand 
ed  it  courteously  to  Beach. 

When  they  returned  to  the  cavern,  they  found 
that  afire  had  been  built,  and  that  Gladys  had  taken 
charge  of  the  preparing  of  their  meager  repast  of 
rice  and  fish,  to  which  the  Sakie  chief  had  added 
fruits  and  dried  buffalo  meat. 

After  the  meal,  Beach  threw  himself  down  on  a 
tiger  skin  at  the  girl's  feet,  heedless  of  the  Doc 
tor's  invitation  to  join  him  in  an  exploring  excur 
sion,  and  watched  her  as  she  deftly  repaired  a  rent 
in  her  brother's  canvas  jacket  with  some  string  and 
a  thorn. 

"  What  is  it  that  the  copy-books  say  about  neces 
sity  being  the  mother  of  invention  ?  "  she  asked, 
smiling.  "  I  hope  our  inventions  will  keep  pace  with 
our  necessities." 

"  They  certainly  have  so  far,"  replied  Beach. 
"  Everything  seems  to  have  worked  out  like  a  stage 
plot.  Isn't  it  jolly!" 

In  truth,  since  the  day  of  their  capture  at  the 
stockade  by  the  Panglima,  he  had  not  for  a  moment 
acknowledged  the  true  gravity  of  their  position. 
While  in  conversation  with  the  Doctor,  he  had 
striven  to  give  his  face  a  serious  cast,  and  to  speak 


126  THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA. 

seriously  of  their  chances  of  escape,  as  though  it 
were  really  a  matter  of  life  and  death.  He  dimly 
suspected  that  the  romance  in  his  mind  refused  to 
consider  the  entire  adventure  as  anything  more 
than  an  exciting  episode,  such  as  he  had  expected 
to  meet  in  so  distant  and  unknown  a  part  of  the 
globe. 

The  discovery  of  a  girl  —  captive  like  themselves 
—  had  added  the  one  element  to  the  rose  color  of 
the  plot  that  it  lacked ;  and  he  had  given  himself 
up  to  the  excitement  and  pleasure  of  watching  the 
moves  and  counter-moves  of  the  play,  in  which  he 
was  one  of  the  characters.  It  was  like  a  tale  of 
adventure  by  Stevenson  or  Clarke  Russell,  made 
real. 

The  whipping  of  Wahpering,  the  horrible  death 
of  Mcllvaine,  the  burning  of  the  bungalow,  or  the 
thud  of  a  rifle  bullet  close  to  his  head,  failed  to 
make  the  adventure  less  impersonal  or  amusing. 

Three  days  without  food  —  the  Doctor  had 
growled  —  was  what  he  needed  to  convince  him 
that  they  were  on  no  holiday  excursion,  nor  taking 
part  in  any  charade. 

In  the  modern  novel,  Beach  knew,  one  of  the 
characters  of  such  a  little  tale  as  their  adventure 
would  make  would  be  expected  to  fall  in  love  with 
the  captive  heroine,  and  with  the  most  willing  read- 
/'  iness  he  had  taken  upon  himself  the  lover's  role. 
All  the  more  readily,  perhaps,  as  the  heroine  in 
this  case  would  have  commanded  his  admiration 
under  less  romantic  circumstances.  From  the  night 
on  which  he  had  found  the  handekrchief  at  Sand- 
ringham,  he  had  let  all  his  thoughts  and  dreams 


THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA.  127 

Center  about  its  fair  owner.  So  for  two  weeks  he 
had  been  doubly  a  captive, —  a  captive  in  body,  and 
a  captive  in  mind.  Then  for  twenty-four  hours  he 
realized  the  happiness  of  meeting  and  talking  to  his 
captor,  and  instead  of  striving  for  his  release,  he 
had  fallen  deeper  into  her  toils. 

He  looked  up  into  her  face  now,  and  watched  the 
deep  lights  in  her  eyes,  the  delicate  coloring  of  her 
neck  and  face,  with  a  sense  of  exultation  that  made 
him  glory  in  his  captivity,  and  drove  from  his  mind 
all  thoughts  of  danger  from  his  once  captor, —  the 
Panglima. 

"Jolly!"  echoed  Gladys  blankly,  with  a  look  of 
surprise  in  her  lifted  eyebrows. 

Beach's  smile  faded. 

"  Well,  I  don't  know  that  you  would  call  it  exactly 
jolly.  Of  —  of  —  course,  we  are  not  out  of  danger ; 
but  then,  you  know, — that  is  to  say, —  I  was  n't 
thinking  of  the  danger." 

"  No  !  "  she  said  archly. 

"  O,  I  say,  that 's  not  what  I  mean." 

Gladys  took  no  notice  of  this  expressive  ejacula 
tion,  but  kept  her  eyes  on  her  work. 

The  half  lights  from  the  vaulted  roof  above  fell 
about  her  head  like  a  halo,  and  kept  Beach's  mind 
wandering  from  his  halting  explanation  to  the  pict 
ure  before  him. 

"  Of  course,  I  had  n't  forgotten  the  danger,  but 
just  then  I  was  thinking  that  we  were  by  ourselves, 
and  could  —  could  chat,  —  you  know, —  and — and 
get  acquainted." 

Gladys  laughed  softly  at  her  admirer's  confusion, 
and  stole  a  glance  at  the  top  of  his  great  blonde 
head. 


128  THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA. 

"  I  have  felt  that  I  have  known  you  ever  since  I 
found  your  handkerchief  under  the  piano,"  he  went 
on,  growing  bolder  in  the  girl's  silence. 

"Odd,  isn't  it?  Don't  suppose  you  knew  that 
such  a  fellow  existed." 

Gladys  laughed  merrily.  "  Of  course  I  did.  I  was 
selfish  enough  to  be  almost  glad  that  you  were  a 
prisoner  like  myself.  It  gave  me  courage  to  hope 
that  we  might  all  escape  together." 

"  Were  you  really  glad  ?  "  he  questioned  eagerly. 
"Honestly,  so  was  I, —  and  more,  I  shall  be  sorry 
when  we  get  back  to  civilization  ! " 

Gladys  did  not  ask  why,  and  Beach  fell  once  more 
to  watching  her  labor  of  love  on  the  old  coat. 


THE   PANGLIMA    MUDA. 


XIII. 

AT  DAYLIGHT  the  next  morning,  Trong,  the  Sa- 
kie  chief,  appeared  at  the  mouth  of  the  cavern  with 
a  rude  rattan  chair  suspended  between  two  long 
bamboo  poles,  ready  for  the  day's  journey.  Gladys 
seated  herself  securely  in  it,  and  eight  sturdy  little 
men  grasped  the  poles  and  darted  off  into  the  ele 
phant  path.  Beach  started  to  run  by  her  side,  but 
the  swaying  and  pitching  of  the  chair,  as  its  bear 
ers  sprang  from  side  to  side  in  their  efforts  to  get 
over  the  mudholes,  soon  forced  him  to  the  rear. 

The  Doctor  gathered  together  a  load  of  Sakie 
pots  and  baskets. 

"  They  will  make  a  good  article  for  a  Smithso 
nian  report,"  he  said  in  reply  to  Mead's  smile. 

"  It  is  a  subject  that  has  never  been  thoroughly 
written  up.  You  see," —  he  went  on,  glad  of  an 
appreciative  listener, —  "they  are  the  only  remnants 
of  the  aborigines  of  this  peninsula, —  the  people  that 
the  Malay  found  when  he  came  over  from  the  rich 
valley  of  the  Menung  Kabu,  in  Sumatra.  They 
have  resisted  the  religion  of  Islam  and  the  civili 
zation  of  the  European.  They  are  of  as  much  in 
terest  to  science  as  the  aboriginal  Indian  or  negro, 
and  a  learned  pamphlet  with  illustrations  by  Jonas 
Poultney,  Ph.  D.,  will  not  look  bad." 

Mead  laughed,  and  took  the  collection  from  the 
Doctor's  back  and  swung  it  across  his  own  broad 
shoulders. 

"  I  '11  carry  it,  Doctor,  if  you  will  send  me  an  au 
tograph  copy  of  your  work." 


l3O  THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA. 

"  I  '11  do  better,  my  boy,"  answered  the  gratified 
old  enthusiast  pompously.  "I'll  acknowledge  the 
obligation  in  the  preface.  Yes,  I  '11  go  farther,  and 
dedicate  it  to  you.  '  To  Thomas  Mead,  Esquire,  in 
recognition  of  kindness  shown  in  the  collection  of 
the  materials  for  this  little  work.' ' 

The  elephant  track  did  not  belie  its  looks.  For 
hours  they  toiled  along  its  uneven  course,  slipping, 
falling,  and  bruising  themselves. 

The  nimble  natives  found  themselves  more  than 
once  forced  to  lower  the  litter,  while  they  helped 
each  other  from  a  seething  mud-bath,  or  picked  off 
the  numberless  yellow-striped  leeches  that  fastened 
themselves  to  their  bare  legs ;  and  often  Gladys 
would  cry  out  for  them  to  stop  that  she  might  rest 
for  a  moment  from  the  wrenchings  and  side-aches. 

Weary  and  sore,  they  came  at  noon  to  an  open 
space,  large  enough  to  admit  of  their  resting  and 
cooking  their  midday  meal.  A  little  stream  cut 
across  their  course,  and  its  banks  and  the  border 
ing  jungle  showed  the  marks  of  Chinese  tin  miners. 

Gladys  sprang  lightly  from  the  chair,  while  the 
natives  took  from  beneath  it  a  roll  of  palm  matting, 
and  stretched  it  over  a  rude  framework  of  hastily 
cut  poles. 

The  noonday  heat  beat  down  with  a  fierce  inten 
sity  into  the  little  notch  in  the  jungle,  and  made 
the  sparse  shade  of  the  four-by-five  hut  a  thing  not 
to  be  despised. 

Wahpering  built  a  fire,  and  cooked  the  inevitable 
rice,  and  roasted  a  few  roots  of  the  tapioca. 

"  Should  n't  we  make  a  nice  picture  for  a  kodak 
fiend  ? "  laughed  Beach,  glancing  about  the  little 
party. 


THE    ELEPHANT   PATH. 


of  THI 

IVBRSITY 


THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA.  133 

"It  would  take  more  than  a  kodak  to  do  us  just 
ice,"  commented  the  Doctor.  "  In  fact,  I  am  afraid 
we  shall  never  get  justice  for  the  past  month's  out 
rage." 

"O,  Doctor,"  said  Gladys,  "you  might  never  have 
had  the  pleasure  of  knowing  me.  Is  that  not  re 
ward  enough,  without  seeking  for  justice  ? " 

"  Poh  !  poh  ! "  answered  the  old  man,  his  kindly 
face  lighting  with  pleasure.  "  You  are  safe  enough 
in  talking  to  an  old  fellow  like  me,  who  knows  you 
are  joking;  but  the  Commissioner  there  would  give 
his  eyes  to  hear  you  say  the  same  thing  to  him." 

Gladys  dropped  her  eyes,  and  a  tell-tale  blush 
stole  over  her  fair  cheeks.  Beach  turned  angrily 
away. 

"It  's  only  natural  you  young  folks  should  feel 
that  way,"  went  on  the  imperturbable  old  man. 
"You  are  both  handsome  and  romantic  — in  Beach's 
case  I  would  say  silly.  Tut,  tut,  don't  get  on  your 
high  horse  ;  I  have  told  you  that  before.  Why,  do 
you  know,  he  was  actually  jealous  of  me  the  time  I 
got  that  stolen  interview  with  you."  And  the  Doc 
tor  laughed  unrestrainedly  at  the  absurdity  of  the 
thought.  "  But  there,  there,  I  am  forgetting  that  I 
was  sent  out  to  these  God-forsaken  wilds  by  the 
great  Smithsonian  Institution  to  make  a  collection 
of  its  flora  and  fauna,  to  study  its  anthropology, 
ethnology,  lithology,  and  metallurgy,  to  obtain 
archaic  time-pieces,  measuring  instruments,  games 
of  chance,  musical  instruments,  and  —  " 

"  And  to  succor  the  oppressed,"  finished  Gladys 
tragically. 

"  And  not  to  abet  such  foolishness,"  he  went  on, 
unmindful  of  his  listener's  interruption. 


134  THE    PANGLIMA    MUDA. 

A  family  of  gray  monkeys  swung  far  out  on  the 
swaying  limbs  of  the  giant  timboosa  trees,  and 
peered  down  in  wonderment  at  the  strange  noises. 
A  native  espied  them,  and  as  quick  as  lightning  his 
blow-pipe  was  at  his  mouth,  and  a  tiny  dart  sped 
upward  toward  one  of  the  most  daring  of  the  lot. 

In  an  instant  the  almost  human  little  victim 
dropped  with  a  pitiful  cry  at  Gladys's  feet.  His 
mates  went  scuttling  away,  scolding  and  chattering 
with  fear. 

The  victorious  sportsman  came  running  up  with 
a  deprecatory  touch  of  his  forehead,  picked  him  up, 
and  darted  back  to  the  edge  of  the  bank. 

"A  welcome  and  unexpected  addition  to  their 
bill  of  fare.  I  don't  suppose  they  ever  heard  of  the 
manna  of  the  Israelites." 

"  O,  Doctor,  how  can  you  joke  about  such  a  thing. 
It  seems  almost  like  taking  a  human  life." 

"  Like  the  Panglima's,  for  instance  ? "  queried  the 
Doctor. 

Gladys  shuddered. 

"You  needn't  fear  him,  my  dear.  To-night  we 
shall  be  at  the  bank  of  the  river  again.  By  morning 
we  shall  be  safe  in  Temerloh.  Then,  with  a  detach 
ment  of  Sikhs,  we  shall  glide  down  the  Pahang  to 
its  mouth,  and  then  along  the  coast  to  Singapore. 
When  I  tell  the  Governor  of  the  horrible  death  of 
Mcllvaine  and  of  our  imprisonment  and  your  kid 
naping,  he  will  send  something  besides  Sikhs  and 
policemen  after  this  English-speaking  murderer,  or 
I  am  mistaken  in  my  belief  in  British  pluck ! " 

"  God  save  the  Queen  !  "  shouted  Mead  enthusi 
astically. 


THE   PANGLIMA   MUDA.  135 

"  Yes,  save  her  until  after  the  death  of  her  charm 
ing  son,"  commented  the  Doctor  dryly. 

"  However,  we  are  wasting  time.  I  am  going  to 
take  a  look  at  these  old  tin  mines.  Will  you  come 
along,  Mead  ?  I  suppose  you  know  that  this  penin 
sula  mines  one  half  the  tin  of  the  world, —  right  in 
the  face  of  the  McKinley  Bill.  Fact,  the  Consul 
told  me  so."  And  so  the  old  man  ran  on,  retailing 
fact  after  fact  from  the  inexhaustible  storehouse 
of  his  memory. 

"Wonderful  old  man,"  said  Beach,  as  the  Doctor 
and  his  new-found  disciple  disappeared  over  the 
bank.  "  He  has  quite  given  me  up  as  a  hopeless 
case." 

"  And  are  you  ? "  she  asked,  laughing  softly. 

Beach  glanced  up  in  time  to  catch  the  sweet,  al 
most  tender,  look  that  filled  the  big  black  eyes  as 
they  met  his  own,  and  his  heart  beat  with  a  fierce^ 
wild  longing  that  for  the  moment  drove  away  his 
speech. 

"  Gladys  ! " 

She  did  not  draw  away  her  hand,  as  he  took  it  in 
his,  but  said,  as  a  happy  smile  played  about  the  cor 
ners  of  her  mouth, —  "You  have  not  answered  my 
question  yet." 

So  the  Doctor  found  them  an  hour  later,  when  he 
returned  laden  with  the  spoils  of  his  exploration. 

He  glanced  at  them  curiously,  sought  to  adjust 
his  missing  monocle,  smiled  broadly,  and  then  bent 
down  and  took  the  flushing  face  of  the  girl  between 
his  pudgy  hands,  and  before  she  could  escape, 
kissed  her. 


136 


THE    PANGLIMA    MUDA. 


"Ah,  you  rascal !  "  he  laughed,  as  she  darted  out 
of  his  reach.  "  I  no  more  than  give  you  your  free 
dom,  than  you  lose  it  again."  And  the  happy  old 
scientist  stood  chuckling  quietly  at  his  joke,  while 
Beach  nervously  twisted  the  ends  of  his  yellow 
mustache. 


THE   PANGLIMA    MUD  A.  137 


WORLD'S  FAIR  NOTE. 

(Sent  out  by  the  Department  of  Publicity  and  Promotion.) 

Lieutenant  John  Quincy  Adams  Beach,  Special  Commissioned 
for  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition,  and  his  bride  arrived  in  Chi 
cago  yesterday,  direct  from  Singapore.  Commissioner  Beach  brings 
with  him  four  Sakies  and  their  chief,  Trong  ;  also  a  complete  Malay 
bungalow.  In  company  with  Lieutenant  Beach  is  the  noted  trav 
eler  and  ethnologist,  Professor  Jonas  Poultney,  Ph.  D.,  who  has  a 
splendid  collection  of  Malay  and  Sakie  curios,  embracing  archaic 
time-pieces,  musical  instruments,  games  of  chance,  and  weapons 
of  war.  Through  the  kind  offices  of  Doctor  Poultney  the  Smith 
sonian  has  decided  to  loan  the  entire  collection  to  the  Fair. 


138  THE    PANGLIMA    MUDA, 


From  the  "  Straits-Times"  of  Singapore. 

PAHANG. 

THE    "PANGLIMA  MUDA"  OF    ]EMPOL   KILLED. 
His  HEAD  TAKEN  TO  PEKAN. 
(From  our  Own  Correspondent.') 

PEKAN,  3oth  October,  '92. 

The  famous  Panglima  Muda  of  Jempol,  the  instigator  of  the  Pa- 
hang  War  and  the  murderer  of  Mcllvaine,  of  the  Jelebu  Company, 
has  been  caught  at  last,  and  killed  in  the  Ulu  Jempol  by  a  parly 
led  by  the  famous  Punghulo  Wahpering.  His  head,  together  with 
'that  of  a  Malay  named  Mamat,  the  Panglima's  right-hand-man, 
was  brought  to  Pekan  this  afternoon,  and  after  examination  by  the 
medical  officer,  was  buried  by  convicts.  The  Resident  and  Twigkn 
Mahmud  went  to  the  hospital  this  evening,  and  identified  one  of 
the  heads  as  that  of  the  Panglima  Muda,  while  that  of  Mamat  was 
identified  by  many  Pekan  Malays  who  were  acquainted  with  the 
man.  The  account  as  to  how  Wahpering  came  across  the  'Pang- 
lima  is  as  follows  :  — 

It  appears  that  the  Sakie  scouts,  whom  he  had  engaged  for  the 
purpose,  brought  him  information  that  the  Panglima  Muda,  togeth 
er  with  two  others,  was  in  a  bungalow  in  Ulu  Jempol,  at  a  place 
called  Sungei  Buloo,  a  tributary  of  the  Sungei  Tepus,  and  where 
people  hardly  ever  go,  it  being  so  far  up  in  the  Ulu,  and  covered 
with  dense  jungle  all  along.  Acting  on  this  information  the  Pung 
hulo  Wahpering  at  once  set  off  with  30  to  40  men,  and  when 
Sungei  Buloo  was  reached,  he  got  his  followers  to  surround  the 
bungalow,  while  he  decided  to  enter  alone  and  arrest,  or  in  case  of 
resistance,  kill  the  Panglima  Muda.  The  darkness  of  the  night, 
when  these  arrangements  were  put  into  effect,  materially  helped  to 
prevent  him  from  being  seen.  After  the  men  had  been  duly  posted, 
with  instructions  to  fire  in  case  they  saw  the  Panglima  Muda  at 
tempting  to  escape,  the  Punghulo  entered  the  bungalow. 

Directly  he  saw  the  intruder,  the  Panglima  Muda  rushed  at  him 
with  his  diamond-handled  kris,  (he  had  no  gun  with  him,)  but  the 


THE    PANGLIMA    MUDA.  139 

Punghulo  expected  this  attack,  and  fired,  with  the  cry  "  Allah  is 
good  !  "  This,  however,  had  to  be  supplemented  by  another  shot, 
and  then  the  once  redoubtable  Panglima  Mitda  was  no  more.  In 
the  meantime,  Mamat,  on  seeing  his  chief  fall,  shouted  "  Amok  !" 
and  rushed  out  of  the  house,  armed  with  a  kris,  but  only  to  be  rid 
dled  with  bullets.  The  heads  of  both  the  rebels  were  then  sev 
ered  and  brought  here,  the  bodies  being  buried  on  the  spot.  It 
may  be  stated  that  the  warrior  who  has  distinguished  himself  in 
killing  the  Panglima  Muda  is  no  other  than  the  same  Punghulo 
Wahpenng  that  was  captured  in  connection  with  Messrs.  Poultney 
and  Beach,  the  two  daring  Americans  who  invaded  the  rebellious 
country  during  the  war. 

It  is  thought  that  the  capture  and  killing  was  actuated  more  by 
some  desire  for  revenge  than  for  the  reward.  However,  there  seems 
to  be  no  doubt  that  the  Punghulo  Wahpering  has  fairly  earned  the 
reward  of  $l,ooo  that  is  advertised  for  the  head  of  the  Panglima 
Muda,  and  I  believe  that  a  part  of  the  amount  in  question  will  be 
divided  among  the  men  who  assisted  in  the  exploit. 

It  is  thought  that  the  Orang  Kayah  will  not  long  keep  the  field, 
now  that  he  is  deprived  of  the  aid  of  so  powerful  and  crafty  an  ally. 


THE   END.] 


THE 


Overland  Monthly 


For  1895, 

Edited  by  Rounsevelle  Wildman, 

Will  give  more  than  its  usual  range  of 
articles,  by  a  host  of  writers,  old  and 
new,  on  subjects  illustrating  the  life  of  the  great  West 
Coast.  It  has  these  points  of  advantage  over  the  Eastern 
magazines  : 

1.  The  OVERLAND'S  field  embraces  a  part  of  the  United 
States  that  is  and  has  been  richer  in  literary  possibilities 
than  any  other  division  of  the  continent.     From  the  days 
of  the  old  Spanish  padres  to  the  days  when  the  OVERLAND'S 
first  editor, —  Bret  Harte — commenced  his  prose  idyls  of 
the  mining  camp  in  its  pages,  to  the  days  of  the  New  West, 
which  the  OVERHAND  has  made  familiar  to  the  world,  Cal 
ifornia  is,  has  been,  and  will  be,  the  true  home  of  romance. 

2.  A  field  which  is  also  unique  among  magazines  from 
its  Oriental  color,  for  the  Sandwich  Islands,  Japan,  and  the 
Asiatic  Coast,  own  the  OVERLAND  as  their  particular  organ. 

3.  A  group  of  artists,  ambitious,  painstaking,  and  orig 
inal. 

4.  A  history  that  keeps  up  the  present  conduct  of  the 
magazine  to  the  most  strenuous  standards,  and  a  new  man- 
agement  with  push,  vigor,  and  enthusiasm. 

Nobody  can  keep  posted  as  to  the  whole  breadth  of  Amer 
ican  literature  that  neglects  this  able  exponent  of  the  west 
ern  half  of  the  continent. 

A  few  of  the  OVERHAND 's  writers  : 

JOAQUIN  MILLER, 

CHARLES  WARREN  STODDARD, 
IRVING  M.  SCOTT, 
EDWIN  WILDMAN, 

COL.  CHAS.  D.  POSTON, 
GEN.  Lucius  H.  FOOTE, 
PROF.  STEWART  CULIN, 
ROUNSEVELLE  WILDMAN, 

HjALMAR  HjORTH  BOYESEN, 

EDITH  M.  THOMAS, 

HON.  ROLLIN  M.  DAGGETT, 
MILICENT  W.  SHINN, 
CHARLES  S.  GREENE, 
JOHN  VANCE  CHENEY. 


U.  C.  BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 


cosaoisfiat 


